West Ham emerged casualties of Bayer Leverkusen’s rollercoaster campaign as they collapsed late to a 2-0 defeat in the Europa League quarterfinal first leg in Germany, MySportDab reports.
The 2022/23 Europa Conference League winners nearly held the would-be Bundesliga champions to a draw before Xabi Alonso brought his class to bear again, making two key substitutions that rued the efforts of the West London outfit.
It was a fiery start for the runaway Bundesliga leaders, who ramped the pressure on West Ham and locked them on a tight leash throughout the game.
Battling to break the hosts’ incessant offensives, the David Moyes-led side committed several bodies to the low block, sitting back to defend while hoping to catch the hosts on counters.
The Die Werkself continued on their ascendant run. They beat the visitors’ low block and came across a slew of chances but could not make them count.
At the break, it ended barren with both sides unable to find the back of the net. While West Ham were proud of the barren 45 minutes, it was a disappointment for the spirited Xabi Alonso-led side, who screwed the game from all possible angles for a goal, all to no avail.
The second half was no different from the first. West Ham continued on their low block while Bayer Leverkusen continued with their dominant performance.
It was still a deadlock for the Die Werkself as they failed to break through West Ham’s brink wall defence.
In the 76th minute, Xabi Alonso made two key substitutions that changed the trajectory of the game and served instant impact.
Victor Boniface came on for Schick while Hoffman came on for Adli. Just seven minutes after the pair came on, the hosts broke the goal deadlock.
Hoffman scored seven minutes after coming to give Bayer Leverkusen the lead while Victor Osimhen scored in the first minute of stoppage time to double the lead.
The two late goals by the two substitutes were enough to hand Bayer Leverkusen a deserved 2-0 win after the final whistle. They will hope to secure the win and ace through to the last four of the competition as they head into the second leg in London next week.
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