Moyes: Let´s not get carried away after one Europa League win

West Ham United manager David Moyes is not getting carried away despite his side becoming the first side in 14 group stage matches to win away to Dinamo Zagreb in the Europa League.

The Hammers won 2-0 over the Croatian champions on Thursday after goals from Michail Antonio and Declan Rice, marking the club’s return to Europe for the first time since 2016.

The victory comes on the back of an unbeaten start to the Premier League season for Moyes’ side, who are eighth with eight points from four games.

“Coming away from home in Europe to Zagreb, which we probably see as being one of the hardest away trips, you have to say that it’s a great job for the first time in a while that we’ve been [on this stage] and the players have done really well,” Moyes said.

“Let’s not get carried away, we’ve played one game in the group and there will be some really big sides that come into this competition once we get after Christmas time.

“That’s why I keep using the term in my interviews: ‘Let’s see if we can have European football after Christmas’. That’s what we want to do.

“We need to manage the group. Tonight we tried to manage a few of the players, and give a few opportunities as well to get players in the side and get them match fit to play.

“I thought all the players did a really good job tonight.”

Massive thank you to our travelling fans tonight. Incredible support as always. Us players appreciate you! We keep going!!

— Declan Rice (@_DeclanRice) September 16, 2021

Moyes had special praise for Antonio, who has started the season in strong form, netting four league goals along with his Europa strike.

“Michail showed his qualities to get on the end of the chance for his goal and I was really pleased with him tonight,” he said.

“You want varied goals, and he picks up on a bad back pass and it’s his speed which can get him there. It was a really good goal and his play generally tonight was good.

“I like how he played and lots of the things he done, we just missed making more opportunities and we should have.”

The Hammers take on Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday, although Antonio will miss due to suspension.