Moussa Dembele has played a key role in Aaron Cresswell's sending-off as West Ham gear up for a second-half with ten men against Lyon, but it is his reaction that has caused a stir.
The Hammers are hosting the French outfit at the London Stadium and are fancied to go deep in the Europa League. With the game goalless and in first-half stoppage time Dembele was sent clear with Cresswell among those chasing back. The West Ham defender grabs his opponent.
The Lyon forward goes down and the referee immediately brandishes a red card. Cresswell trudged off with his head in his hands as David Moyes berated the fourth official. But when the cameras turned to Dembele he was seen winking towards a teammate.
That reaction has been seen previously on the global stage at the World Cup in 2006. England faced Portugal in the last eight and, with the game still goalless, Wayne Rooney was sent-off. Cristiano Ronaldo was among those who played a role in the Manchester United legend's dismissal.
As Rooney walked off the field in Germany Ronaldo was seen winking in the direction of one of his compatriots. Dembele's reaction draws clear comparisons with Lyon now holding the upper hand in their European quarter-final. Moyes was booked as he continued to lament the decision.
Before the game in the capital Cresswell had hailed the influence of the West Ham fans, referring to their stadium as a "fortress". He told BT Sport: "The progression the club has made over the last two years, it's kind of our fortress now and teams have found it hard to play there. Certainly, the atmosphere against Sevilla was special, and hopefully we can replicate that again." He also added: "We've got a great team spirit and have shown that over the last three years.
"We've got a small, tight-knit squad and I think that takes us a long way. We're looking forward to the games and a potential semi-final is massive." West Ham saw off 2020 Europa League winners Sevilla in the last round and will be bouyed by that success.
Moyes said ahead of the meeting with Lyon: "We're really excited by getting to the quarter-final of a European competition. It's a big deal for any club. We weren't expected to be in it last season but the run we've had has been very good. Long may that continue."
He added on their opponents: "We're playing against a team who two years ago were in the Champions League semi-final so we'd be crazy to be thinking any further than this first leg. We have to realise this is a different set-up now because we're at home in the first leg of a quarter-final and the game might be slightly different."
