West Ham fought valiantly but exited the UEFA Europa League at the quarter-final stage with a 3-1 aggregate loss to Bayer Leverkusen. David Moyes’ side looked set to end the German champions’ unbeaten run thanks to Michail Antonio’s first-half opener until Jeremie Frimpong struck late on to secure the visitors’ place in the last four. Xabi Alonso’s men remain on course for a historic treble.
West Ham produced a valiant display but ultimately came up short as Bayer Leverkusen substitute Jeremie Frimpong struck in the dying seconds to earn the newly crowned German champions a UEFA Europa League semi-final spot with a 1-1 draw at the London Stadium.
After winning the first leg of the quarter-final 2-0 last Thursday, the unbeaten Bundesliga champions endured a torrid first period before recovering strongly to equalise on 89 minutes when Frimpong’s deflected shot flew off Aaron Cresswell and beyond helpless home goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski.
West Ham had dominated the first period and deservedly moved ahead on 13 minutes when Michail Antonio rose bravely to power a header into the net from a delightful Jarrod Bowen cross into the heart of the visiting area with goalkeeper Matej Kovar slow to react.
But they ran out of steam after half-time as visiting coach Xabi Alonso made several changes to steady matters with Leverkusen deservedly progressing to a semi-final meeting with Roma.
Leverkusen remain on course for a historic treble of league, German Cup and UEFA Europa League with the club’s first Bundesliga crown already in the bag.
