West Ham have been knocked out of the Europa League after losing 3-1 on aggregate to undefeated Bayer Leverkusen on Thursday.
West Ham needed to overturn a two-goal deficit in the second leg of the Europa League tie against Bayer Leverkusen and managed an early goal through Michail Antonio.
But Xabi Alonso’s men ramped it up after the break and second-half subtitute Jeremie Frimpong ended the contest with a late strike that deflected into the net.
It levelled the scores and forced the Hammers into needing two goals again with moments left, ending any hope of their chances of progressing in the Europa League.
While the two sides tussled out a great tie, referee Jose Maria Sanchez came into the spotlight after handing 11 yellow cards out and two red cards to two members of staff on the sideline.
Antonio was especially furious after several challenges on him went unpunished, telling TNT Sports in a furious rant after the match: “It doesn’t feel like you’re playing against 11 men, it feels like you’re playing against 13…14 including the two linos.
“You just have to keep pushing and try and make the decisions go your way. And they just weren’t. We had to keep playing our way and keep being professional.
“We’re very proud of ourselves, to achieve what we’ve achieved over the last four years is incredible.
“Four back-to-back years in European quarter-finals I would never have thought that. We were a yoyo team, into Europe, then fighting for relegation.”
The 3-1 aggregate defeat to Leverkusen saw David Moyes’ chances of winning another European trophy come to an end.
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The Scotsman brought glory to the club after West Ham won the Europa Conference League last season, their first European trophy.
And there were dreams in the London Stadium that they could muster a mighty comeback and potentially lead them to the Europa League final and do it all over again.
However, they came up against arguably the favourites now to win the competition with Liverpool crashing out against Atalanta.
Alonso’s side have already won the Bundesliga for the first time in their history and remain unbeaten in all competitions after 44 matches.
It means that the German outfit’s dream of going the entire season without tasting defeat in all competitions remains on the cards in what would be an unprecedented campaign.
As for Moyes, this is likely his last match in charge of West Ham in a European match.
talkSPORT understands that the 60-year-old is likely to leave at the end of the season when his contract expires.
There is a deal on the table for the Scotsman but the feeling is that he is ready to move on.
News Summary:
- Michail Antonio blasts referees in furious rant after West Ham crash out of Europa League
- Check all news and articles from the latest Football updates.