has hit out at Lyon striker Moussa Dembele and the club’s Twitter admin and says had extra incentive to beat the French side in their quarter-final clash.
The east Londoners faced a difficult challenge on Thursday night after drawing 1-1 in the first leg, with Aaron Cresswell suspended and missing the match through injury.
But quick-fire goals just before half-time from Craig Dawson and Rice put the Hammers ahead and their progress to the semi-final was secured when Jarrod Bowen netted shortly after the restart.
A 3-0 win on the night – and 4-1 on aggregate – means West Ham will now take on Frankfurt, who pulled off a stunning upset to net three times at Camp Nou and knock out Barcelona.
After the game, Rice revealed that West Ham’s players were extra fired up to win after a provocative tweet from Lyon’s Twitter account suggesting the tie was already over, while the Hammers were also unhappy with Dembele for winking after getting Cresswell sent off.
Speaking to BT Sport after the match, Rice said: ‘I feel like if you can’t get up for these games then you shouldn’t be playing football.
‘The roar from the warm-up was spine-tingling really, really gives you that fire in your stomach to go out there and perform. And there were a few incentives tonight for us to go out there and win, obviously Dembele winking in the first leg at the camera.
‘And then their Twitter admin somehow saying how they don’t see how they’re not going to get through. So them things come back to bite you.
‘We stayed quiet, put in a performance and now West Ham are in the semis – what more do we want?’
On facing Frankfurt in the semi-final, Rice continued: ‘I actually did German in school and gave it up after about two weeks! It’s the most difficult thing ever.
‘For them to beat Barca they’re a top side, you can’t overlook that.
‘Whether it was a poor night by Barca you’ve still got to score three against them. We watched their game against Betis the other week and they looked a really strong, good side.
‘So we’ll be ready for whatever, two games again. We know what we want and that’s to reach the final and we’ll give it everything.’
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