one point above the relegation zone. His last game in charge was a 2–1 home loss to Leicester City. He was replaced by David Moyes, who returned for a second spell in charge a day later. On 22 July 2020, the club secured their Premier League status for another season, following a 1–1 draw away to Manchester United. Ahead of the 2020–21 season, West Ham's ownership attracted criticism, including from club captain Mark Noble who publicly criticized the sale of academy graduate Grady Diangana. Despite losing the opening two games of the season, West Ham's form improved and by the end of November, the club sat in fifth place. The club would not drop out of a European spot for the rest of the season and went on to qualify for the 2021–22 UEFA Europa League group stages after finishing in 6th - exceeding many expectations. Moyes signed a new 3-year contract on 12 June 2021. On 26 August 2021, West Ham were drawn in group H in the Europa League, alongside Dinamo Zagreb, Genk and Rapid Wien. 2021 culminated with West Ham sitting fifth in the Premier League, having reached the fifth round of the EFL Cup and winning group H of the Europa League. West Ham won their first three games of 2022, temporarily elevating the club to fourth place in the Premier League. On 10 March 2022, West Ham lost 1–0 away to Sevilla in the Europa League round of 16, before a 2–0 win after extra time seven days later secured West Ham's place in a European quarter-final for the first time in 41 years. On 14 April 2022, following a 1–1 draw a week prior at the London Stadium, West Ham defeated French club Lyon 3–0 at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais to set up West Ham's first European semi-final since 1976. Playing the same opposition they met in their 1976 European Cup Winners' Cup semi-final, Eintracht Frankfurt, the Hammers were knocked out of the Europa League, following a 3–1 aggregate loss to the German side. At the end of the 2021–22 Premier League season, West Ham confirmed a second successive season of European football, qualifying for the UEFA Europa Conference League after finishing seventh. The season was also notable for being Mark Noble's final as a West Ham player, with the midfielder retiring from football after 18 years as a first team player at the