West Ham continued their great start to life in the Europa League with a record-breaking 2-1 victory over Freiburg at the Europa-Park Stadion in Germany.

Lucas Paqueta made the most of a well-timed cross by Jarrod Bowen to put the Irons ahead.

West Ham were stunned after dominating the first half when Roland Sallai equalised from close range shortly after the restart.

Nayef Aguerd, on the other hand, nodded a James Ward-Prowse corner past Noah Atubolu to secure the victory.

The London club set a new record by becoming the first English team to go 17 games without losing in European competition.

Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City team, Don Revie’s Leeds team in the 1960s, and Bill Nicholson’s Tottenham team in the 1970s all went 16 games unbeaten.

West Ham were particularly dangerous on the break in the first half, with Bowen and Mohammed Kudus causing problems for the Freiburg defence.

Before the break, David Moyes’ men limited Freiburg to just one shot on goal, a tame effort that was easily saved by Lukasz Fabianski.

Freiburg were unsettled and struggled to deal with West Ham’s pressure, but they managed to stay in the game despite the visitors’ slim lead.

When Sallai equalised past Fabianski, the game’s momentum shifted, and Lucas Holer should have put Freiburg ahead when he blasted over the bar from six yards.

West Ham were relieved when Atubolu’s careless positioning allowed Aguerd to meet Ward-Prowse’s corner and reclaim the lead, the decisive goal coming against the run of play.

West Ham leads Group A with six points after defeating Backa Topola in their first Europa League game. Freiburg is three points behind in second place.

“It wasn’t one of our best performances and it was a tough game for us tonight,” Ward-Prowse told the Uefa website.

“We now have six points from two games and that’s of course a very good start.”

The former Southampton midfielder also discussed how the hosts improved in the second half and how West Ham’s winning goal came from an unexpected source.

He said: “They switched a few things around at half-time, played with a clear number 10 then, which caused us to have to adjust our midfield several times.

“We weren’t briefed on them having problems in the air, quite the contrary, we expected them to be strong in set-pieces, so it was especially nice to score from a corner.”

It didn’t take long for the hosts to crumble in the face of West Ham’s attacking ferocity, and the Premier League club should have scored more goals in the first half.

Freiburg custodian Atubolu spilled an easy cross against the post, and Paqueta was flagged offside.

West Ham currently sit seventh in the English Premier League and made several changes from the team that defeated Sheffield United at the weekend.

They were without striker Michail Antonio, who was out with a strained adductor muscle.

Kudus, who scored twice against Backa Topola, made an unusual start, linking play and injecting pace into the visitors’ attacking efforts.

Despite creating chances, the visitors struggled in the final third, with the exception of Paqueta’s opener.

Ward-Prowse could only muster a tame shot when put through on goal on the stroke of half-time, one of the visitors’ better chances.

It appeared that West Ham’s lack of a clinical finish would come back to haunt them, but they adapted to the hosts’ improvements and regained control.

West Ham were better organised after Aguerd’s goal and controlled possession well to prevent a second Freiburg comeback.

On Sunday, Moyes’ side will face eighth-placed Newcastle United in the Premier League.

Photo by EPA/ANNA SZILAGYI