West Ham United

David Moyes successfully steered his Hammers side to a 2-1 victory over Fiorentina in the final after enduring his fair share of adversity during a below-par domestic campaign.

Indeed, West Ham's European glory has somewhat papered over the cracks of their tepid efforts in the Premier League in which they narrowly avoided relegation following a significant summer spending spree, with several fresh faces failing to make the desired impact in their first year at the London Stadium.

Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look back at West Ham United's eventful 2022-23 campaign.

SEASON OVERVIEW

Final league position: 14th

EFL Cup: Third round

FA Cup: Fifth round

Europa Conference League: Winners

Top scorer: Michail Antonio (14)

Most assists: Jarrod Bowen (7)

Following an enjoyable journey to the Europa League semi-finals and securing a second successive top-seven finish in the Premier League last season, West Ham's ambitions to cement their status as a club regularly competing for the European places was evident as David Moyes was heavily backed in the summer transfer market with £160m spent on eight new signings.

The club-record acquisition of Lucas Paqueta for a fee in excess of £50m was the most notable addition, while Gianluca Scamacca and Nayef Aguerd were also signed for fees above £30m. Meanwhile, club legend Mark Noble waved goodbye to his beloved Hammers after hanging up his boots in the summer, with star man Declan Rice the obvious replacement to don the captain's armband on a permanent basis.

West Ham endured a difficult start to their Premier League campaign and quickly found themselves languishing inside the relegation zone after winning just one of their opening seven matches, scoring just three goals during this period. However, the Hammers faithful had plenty to smile about in the Europa Conference League as Moyes's men were the only team to complete the group stage with a perfect record across their six matches, beating Anderlecht, Silkeborg and FCSB both home and away to top Group B.

Those smiles were soon turned upside down as Moyes and co endured a disappointing autumnal period, with a penalty-shootout defeat to Blackburn Rovers in the EFL Cup third round taking place amidst a three-game losing streak in the Premier League, including back-to-back home losses against Crystal Palace and Leicester City, leaving the Hammers in a precarious position near the foot of the table.

Top-flight fortunes failed to improve after the World Cup break as two more defeats followed, piling more pressure on Moyes's shoulders, before a 2-2 draw at Leeds United in their first game of 2023 was played out on the same day West Ham mourned the passing of joint-chairman and lifelong Hammers fan David Gold.

Three days later, West Ham battled their way to a narrow 1-0 win at Brentford in the FA Cup third round, a result that sparked a much-needed mini revival in January to save Moyes's bacon. Indeed, the Scotsman's job was on the line as they entered a relegation battle with fellow strugglers Everton, but he successfully steered his side to an important 2-0 home win, with his opposite number Frank Lampard receiving the boot from the Toffees instead, before victory by the same scoreline at Derby County helped the East Londoners progress from the FA Cup fourth round.

Only Wolves (12) scored fewer league goals than West Ham (15) in the opening 20 games of the campaign, and with summer signing Scamacca failing to deliver as well as Michail Antonio being linked with a surprise exit, Moyes brought in experienced striker Danny Ings - a proven goalscorer in the top flight - for £15m to bolster his attacking options. Meanwhile, experienced defender Craig Dawson expressed his desire to move closer to his family up north and was allowed to join Wolves on a permanent deal.

West Ham quickly reaped the reward of Ings's arrival as he scored a quickfire brace in an impressive 4-0 home victory over Nottingham Forest in February, although they proved to be the only two goals the 30-year-old scored for the Hammers in 17 league appearances.

Such a positive result was followed by two disappointing results at the beginning of March, with a 3-1 FA Cup fifth-round capitulation at Man United - a game they were winning with just 13 minutes remaining - followed by a dreadful 4-0 league defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion, arguably the club's worst result and performance of the season that provided a stark reality check for Moyes following a spell of just one defeat in their previous five matches.

The travelling Hammers supporters vented their frustration with cries for the Scotsman to be sacked at their peak. However, in a Premier League campaign like no other which saw a record 12 managerial dismissals, West Ham stayed loyal to Moyes, who responded by guiding his side to a four-game unbeaten run, including a comfortable 6-0 aggregate win over AEK Larnaca in the last 16 of the Europa Conference League.

West Ham experienced plenty of highs and lows in a hectic April schedule of nine fixtures. A heavy 5-1 home defeat against Newcastle and a 4-3 loss at Crystal Palace were certainly moments to forget, but the Hammers managed to pick up 10 points in seven league games to boost their hopes of survival including three wins without reply against Southampton, Fulham and Bournemouth - a surprise 4-0 victory over the latter was just one of three away wins for Moyes's men in 19 away league matches.

Amidst their fluctuating top-flight form, the Hammers secured a 5-2 aggregate win over Gent in the ECL quarter-finals, with a 4-1 second-leg victory making amends for a lacklustre 1-1 first-leg showing to set up a semi-final clash with Dutch outfit AZ Alkmaar.

West Ham all but guaranteed their Premier League survival with a slender 1-0 home win over Man United at the beginning of May, before Hammers fans revelled in one of the most famous European nights in their history courtesy of a 3-1 aggregate triumph over AZ. A last-gasp strike from Pablo Fornals's secured a 1-0 second-leg win in the Netherlands to end West Ham's 47-year wait to reach a European final, although their celebrations were marred by unsavoury scenes as AZ ultras attacked the away section where friends and family of the visiting players were seated.

A much-changed West Ham lineup lost 2-0 to Brentford either side of their ECL semi-final success, but Premier League safety was mathematically secured when Moyes led the East Londoners to a 3-1 win over relegation-threatened Leeds, with the Hammers reaching the much-desired 40-point mark in their penultimate league fixture.

Losing 2-1 at Leicester on the final weekend of the Premier League season was not ideal preparation for Moyes and co before travelling to Prague for the ECL final with Fiorentina. However, they managed to get the job done in arguably the club's biggest match this century, with Jarrod Bowen netting a dramatic 90th-minute winner to secure a historic 2-1 victory and the club's first major trophy for 43 years.

PREMIER LEAGUE STATS

Wins: 14 (=11th)

Draws: 7 (=11th)

Losses: 20 (5th)

Goals scored: 42 (13th)

Goals conceded: 55 (9th)

Yellow cards: 44 (=19th)

Red cards: (=15th)

Passes: 14,622 (16th)

Shots: 474 (9th)

Big chances missed: 33 (14th)

Saves: 117 (6th)

Tackles: 607 (15th)

Own goals: 1 (=12th)

Hit woodwork: 16 (=6th)

Clearances: 779 (7th)

HOW DID IT COMPARE TO LAST SEASON?

Fluctuating form on the domestic front in 2022-23 certainly prevented West Ham from getting anywhere close to last season's seventh-place finish in the Premier League, with Moyes's men picking up significantly fewer points, scoring fewer goals and conceding more across their 38-game campaign.

Indeed, the Hammers ended the season 14th in the top-flight table with 40 points, 16 points worse off than last year, while they scored just 42 league goals and conceded 55 compared with 60 netted and 51 shipped in the previous campaign.

West Ham's home form suffered a marginal decline as they won eight games and accumulated 28 points from 19 matches at the London Stadium after winning nine times and claiming 32 points in the previous season, while the less said about their away form the better as they won only three top-flight fixtures on the road - the fourth fewest in the division - and picked up half as many points compared to last year.

After losing 3-1 at Southampton in the fifth round of the 2021-22 FA Cup, West Ham lost by the same scoreline to Man United at the same stage of this year's competition. However, they were unable to match or better their efforts in the EFL Cup as they followed up last season's quarter-final loss at Tottenham with a disappointing penalty-shootout defeat at home to Championship club Blackburn Rovers in the third round after playing out a 2-2 draw in 90 minutes.

West Ham's first European campaign for 15 years saw Moyes's men reach the Europa League semi-finals last season, losing to eventual winners Eintracht Frankfurt, but they managed to go all the way in the Europa Conference League this term. Their showpiece success over Fiorentina was their 12th victory of the competition, remarkably one more than they managed in the 38-game Premier League campaign - no English club have ever previously won more games in Europe than in the top flight in a single season.

PLAYER OF THE SEASON: DECLAN RICE

Taking the captaincy from club legend Mark Noble was no mean feat, but Declan Rice admirably led by example in his first - and potentially last - full season as West Ham skipper, and he was certainly a cut above the rest in the 2022-23 campaign.

At the age of 24, Rice has established himself as a true leader and central figure within David Moyes's squad both on and off the pitch, and he was the man every Hammers player turned to during the difficult periods across domestic and continental duties.

Rice, who played for over 4,000 minutes across 50 games in all competitions, was given greater licence to roam further forward from midfield this term and he went on to score as many league goals (four) in 2022-23 as in his previous three campaigns combined.