West Ham United crashed out of the Europa League after a valiant but ultimately unsuccessful effort against Bayer Leverkusen. The final score was 3-1 on aggregate
Michail Antonio was left fuming after the match, criticizing the referee’s performance. He felt the officiating was biased towards Leverkusen, claiming it was like “playing against 14” due to questionable decisions.
Despite taking an early lead through Antonio, the Hammers failed to capitalize on other opportunities in the first half. This missed momentum proved costly as Leverkusen equalised in the second half and secured their place in the semi-finals.
While disappointed with the result, manager David Moyes praised his team’s performance. He acknowledged the strength of the opposition and the impact of injuries on his squad’s depth.
Moyes believes the team’s lack of fresh legs, particularly due to injuries, might have contributed to their second-half struggles.
Despite the Europa League exit, the Irons can take pride in their performance against a strong opponent. The focus now shifts to the Premier League and potential summer reinforcements to address the squad’s depth issues.
Not only did you have Antonio getting nothing despite their defenders somehow thinking they’d come out for a WWE match, but the number of yellows being flashed felt as if we were being set up to have someone sent off if it was required. I’m not taking anything away from our players, because they were lions all game, but the performance of the referee leaves a bad taste.
West ham wer brilliant 1st half. But 2nd half burnt themselves out… we’ll played tho hammers. Referee was a nightmare very whistle happy. I thought he was very against west ham…… coyi … we go again
The reason we faded in the 2nd half is because we were knackered, had a weak bench and and a manager with no tactical nouse whatsoever. And it’s been the same since he started flogging his chosen few to exhaustion since before Xmas. And his saviour Phillips ain’t worked out. Well done Moyes
Again we seem to get poor referees in important matches. Moyes should have had the team playing like this in the first leg.
Hello has surely taken us as far as he can. We need a forward thinking manager.
One more nail in Moyes’ coffin. The final nail will be when we do not qualify for European competition through our final Premier League placing.
Thanks for the memories David Moyes. But it’s time to go.