West Ham United came from a goal down before Alphonse Areola’s two penalty shootout saves secured a pre-season victory over French visitors LOSC Lille.
It was a tale of two experienced international centre-forwards in normal time. First, old adversary Olivier Giroud returned to haunt West Ham with a well-taken goal in first half stoppage-time, then Niclas Füllkrug levelled with a clinical finish three minutes from the end of the second.
Into the shootout and Areola denied Nathan Ngoy to take it to sudden death, then kept out Lilian Baret’s spot-kick to secure a welcome and deserved win for Head Coach Graham Potter and his squad.
Saturday’s victory brought an end to West Ham’s five-match, four-country pre-season adventures, with the 2025/26 Premier League campaign next up, kicking-off at Sunderland on Saturday 16 August.
Watch the best of the action in the video player above.
