- Bayer Leverkusen advanced to the Europa League semifinals and maintain unbeaten status against West Ham.
Bayer Leverkusen advanced to the Europa League semifinals but nearly lost their unbeaten season on Thursday when they drew 1-1 away at West Ham United to win 3-1 aggregate.
Michail Antonio’s header gave the home team the lead early on, and Xavi Alonso’s team performed considerably below their normal high standards in the first half as the overpowering hosts created many more opportunities.
Leverkusen, who won their first German title over the weekend, showed tremendous improvement after the interval but missed a number of chances until the 89th minute, when substitute Jeremie Frimpong’s effort deflected past Lukasz Fabianski.
The traveling Leverkusen supporters sent out a big cheer when the final whistle blew, and they are now looking forward to a semifinal matchup with AS Roma, whom they were defeated by at that point in the previous season.
Leverkusen is still on track to win a treble this season after going undefeated in 44 games across all competitions.
West Ham impressive first-half
Michail Antonio put the home team ahead. Photo/ Sky Sports
West Ham sprang out of the books and got things going at the London Stadium in front of a boisterous crowd. They put early pressure on Leverkusen, who were uneasy and like a ghost of the team who won the first leg.
Antonio’s header for the Hammers in the 13th minute startled Leverkusen, who had been pinned deep in their own half. The Jamaican nationalist bravely headed his header beyond the advancing rushers from around six yards away. Matej Kovar, who began the game having returned from injury, met a beautiful delivery blasted into the area with velocity from Jarrod Bowen.
In the heat of things, Kovar denied both Antonio and Mohammed Kudus before resolutely blocking Bowen’s first-ever side-footed effort at the back post. It was a fantastic opportunity for West Ham to tie the score on aggregate, which had Moyes staggering to the ground in shock.
Odilon Kossounou, a defender for Leverkusen, had a nightmare evening. He was cautioned in the fifth minute and then made many errors with the ball, causing Alonso to pull the Ivorian off at the 29-minute mark. Edmond Tapsoba was substituted for him.
When West Ham’s Billy McKinlay was sent off after a furious confrontation, tensions between the coaching staffs of the two teams escalated both on and off the field. Antonio and Jonathan Tah were subsequently booked after having to be separated on the field.
Leverkusen found it difficult to handle West Ham’s threat of crosses into the box; the Hammers had 10 shots on goal, five of which were on target, compared to Leverkusen’s one. As a result, they were lucky to go into the halftime break only one goal behind on the evening.
At the break, Alonso made two substitutions in an attempt to get a much-needed response from the team. Frimpong and top scorer Victor Boniface, who came on as a substitute in the first leg, replaced Patrik Schick and Nathan Tella, respectively.
Leverkusen was able to progressively gain momentum in the match and pose a bigger danger in the latter third of play since West Ham’s energy leveled down a little. The first player to try his luck was Florian Wirtz, who scored a hat-trick in Leverkusen’s 5-0 Bundesliga victory against Werder Bremen last weekend. However, his initial half-volley spun just wide of the far post.
Frimpong came off the bench to score the crucial goal/ Photo/ Sky Sports
Leverkusen quickly took control of the possession game, but West Ham looked strong on the break. Bowen nearly took advantage of a mistake made by Piero Hincapie in the penalty area when he dragged a cross-cum-shot across the six-yard box and past his teammates, who were sliding in at the back post.
Bayern Leverkusen’s undefeated streak appeared to be coming to an end as well, but just moments after Frimpong scored a spectacular goal after breaking clear on goal, the Dutchman made up for it in the closing moments of play with a drive that deflected off Aaron Cresswell and flew into the far corner.
Leverkusen’s dreams of capturing a historic treble are still alive after they won their first-ever Bundesliga championship last weekend. They will try to extend their winning run when they visit Borussia Dortmund on Sunday.
West Ham will now turn their focus back to the Premier League when they play Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.
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