West Ham continued their successful start to life in the Europa League with a record-breaking victory at Freiburg.
Lucas Paqueta lept highest to set the Irons on course with a goal from a well-timed cross by Jarrod Bowen.
Following their first-half dominance, West Ham were rocked when Roland Sallai struck a close-range equaliser shortly after the restart.
However, Nayef Aguerd nodded a James Ward-Prowse corner past Noah Atubolu to secure the win.
The London club clinched an impressive record by becoming the first English side to go 17 consecutive games in European competition without defeat.
Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City team, Don Revie’s Leeds in the 1960s, and Bill Nicholson’s 1970s Tottenham side all managed 16 games unbeaten.
West Ham were particularly threatening on the break in the first half as Bowen and Mohammed Kudus troubled the Freiburg defence.
Freiburg were unsettled and struggled to cope with the pressure from West Ham. They however managed to remain in contention given the visitors’ slim lead.
The game’s momentum shifted when Sallai lashed the equaliser past Fabianski. Lucas Holer should have put Freiburg in front when he somehow blasted over the bar from six yards.
West Ham were therefore relieved when careless positioning from Atubolu allowed Aguerd to meet Ward-Prowse’s corner and restore the lead, the decisive goal coming against the run of play.
Win came through an ‘unfacied route’
West Ham, who beat Backa Topola in their opening Europa League game, top Group A with six points. Freiburg are second and sit three points behind.
“It wasn’t one of our best performances and it was a tough game for us tonight,” Ward-Prowse said.
“We now have six points from two games and that’s of course a very good start.”
The former Southampton midfielder also spoke of the hosts’ second-half improvement. He also added that West Ham’s winning goal came via an unfancied route.
He said: “They switched a few things around at half-time. They played with a clear number 10 then, which caused us to have to adjust our midfield several times.
“We weren’t briefed on them having problems in the air, quite the contrary. We expected them to be strong in set-pieces, so it was especially nice to score from a corner.”
