Ukrainian Andriy Yarmolenko scored in West Ham United's 2-1 Premier League win over Aston Villa on Sunday, and has since thanked his teammates, the fans and the British public for their support amid Russia's invasion of his homeland.
A jubilant London Stadium crowd celebrated the 32-year-old substitute breaking the deadlock in the 70th minute, with his left-footed jab from inside the penalty area fizzing into the bottom-right corner.
Yarmolenko – who became the first Ukrainian player to score in the Premier League since himself against Villa back in July 2020 – fell to his knees in tears before pointing to the sky in celebration, surrounded by his teammates.
Pablo Fornals added a second for the Hammers eight minutes from time, and despite Jacob Ramsey pulling one back for Villa in stoppage time, the hosts held on for all three points.
Yarmolenko had been given some time away from football over the last few weeks, but he made an immediate impact on his return to first-team action, with his goal helping West Ham end a run of three successive defeats across all competitions.
The 106-cap Ukraine international admitted that it has been hard to focus on football during these distressing times, but he is thankful for all the support he has received and aims to "give everything" for the team when selected.
"It was so emotional for me because of the situation in my country. It is so difficult for me right now in this moment thinking about football because every day, the Russian army is killing Ukrainian people," Yarmolenko told Sky Sports News in his post-match interview.
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"It was so emotional. To be honest, I don't know what to say. I just want to say thank you to my teammates, who support me all the time, every day. To West Ham fans, they also support me and Ukrainian people and also to all British people, because we feel you support us. Thank you, really.
"I felt the support from the fans and I tried to give everything on the pitch because I know how important the game was for us today. I'm not ready for 100% because the last two weeks I train maybe three or four times.
"Since February 26, I had to rest for four days because it was impossible to train, I was just thinking about my family and my people. I just tried to give everything on the pitch."
West Ham remain sixth in the Premier League table, three points behind Arsenal in fourth, but the Gunners have three games in hand.
Yarmolenko and his Hammers teammates will now prepare for the second leg of their Europa League last-16 tie at home against Sevilla on Thursday, with the Spanish side taking their 1-0 first leg advantage to the London Stadium.
Oliver Thomas
