Which means that’s us done for tonight. Thanks all for your company and comments; peace out.
And here’s Jacob Steinberg’s match report from the London Stadium.
Europa semi-final draw:
Benfica/Marseille v Atalanta and Roma v Leverkusen
**
Conference semi-final draw:
Aston Villa v Olympiakos/Fenerbahce
Fiorentina v Club Brugge
Otherwise, in the Europa Benfica and Marseille are playing extra time after the French side won 1-0 on the night, likewise Fenerbahce and Olympiakos in the Conference after the turks won 1-0 on the night.
Tonight’s results, Europa on top, Conference below.
“Last week we gave em too much respect,” Michail Antonio tells TNT. He feels he didn’t get a decision all night, but his team were unlucky and the pressing left them knackered at the end. He’s disappointed with how West Ham played last week, but it felt like playing against 14, including the ref and two linos. He’s been at the club nine years, and four back-to-back quarter-finals isn’t something he’d ever have expected, so now they need to qualify again for next year.
The Leverkusen players go to applaud the away end, while the home fans show appreciation for the effort put in by their team. They gave everything, but ran out of legs in the second half, made to chase the ball by a fantastically confident and skilled opponent led by an absolute meister.
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Full time: West Ham United (1) 1-1 (3) Bayer Leverkusen
Leverkusen know what they’re about, riding out the storm to ease their way through an second half that oozed composure; they’re now 44 games unbeaten, and it’ll take a very serious effort to stop them adding at least one more trophy to that. With Liverpool losing 3-1 on aggregate to Atalanta, Aston Villa are the only english side left in Europe!
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90+5 min Johnson, left in space, laces a decent effort from 25 yards that scuds just past the far post.
90+3 min Boniface works space in the box, feints inside then diddles his man on the outside … only to leather over the bar.
90+2 min We suspected pre-match that Boniface’s second goal last week was probably going to be decisive and that’s how it’s turned out. Tonight’s game, meanwhile, was settled when Alonso replaced Kossounou with Tapsoba, then at half-time when he reorganised.
90+1 min We’ll have four additional minutes.
90 min The home fans give their boys a proper cheers; they know they’ve given it everything across this tie, they’ve just been beaten by a better side on one of the all-time great buzzes.
GOAL! West Ham (1) 1-1 (3) (Frimpong 89)
Frimpong settles the tie and preserves the unbeaten run! left in space down the left side of the box and allowed time thereafter, he nudges inside, creating a shooting angle, fires into Cresswell’s back, and the deflection beats Fabianski! Everkusen in the house, 43 games poised to become 44!
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87 min Alonso sends on Andrich for Wirtz.
87 min I didn’t realise that when Billy McKinley was sent off, so was one of the Leverkusen backroom boys, but it is so.
86 min Kovar, who’s had a much quieter second half then first, takes his time over a goalkick and is booked.
85 min Moyes sends on Johnson and Cornet for Coufal and a displeased Alvarez, then West Ham win a free-kick 40 yards out and Soucek is booked for mouthing off; Ward-Prowse’s delivery is poor, his cross flying well beyond everyone.
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83 min What a miss! Bowen tries a really clever reverse-pass, it doesn’t quite get through, and suddenly Leverkusen counter, passes whizzing from Palacios, through Wirtz and into Boniface, who sets Frimpong away at inside-right! He’s got Adli in the middle and this is a chance to finish the tie and save the unbeaten record! But instead of squaring a tap-in, he goes along, skying an amusingly poor effort over the angle at the near post. Whatever the result, he’ll be hearing from his manager on that later.
82 min Time elapses.
80 min It feels banal even to type, but West Ham are missing Paquetá badly. His energy and imagination are exactly what they’re missing now; meantime, Wirtz shoots from distance, winning a corner via defelection. Leverkusen’s unbeaten record is still in serious jeopardy, even more so when Fabianski catches the resultant ball in.
79 min Coufal is booked for protesting when Bowen wins a thrown only for it to be given the other way. So Zouma politely alerts the ref to his accidental oversight, and is booked too.
79 min A loose pass from Boniface sets Kudus away, but he’s run his legs off and all he can do is head straight into trouble.
76 min Finally a slice of magic from Wirtz, painting a glorious ball in behind with the outside of his foot, and Adli is on to it! But down the left side of the box, he can’t find a pass, instead squaring to no one, and West Ham clear.
76 min Leverkusen win a free-kick on the left touchline, 30 yards out, Wirtz to curl in … and the delivery is poor, one of various heads nodding away.
74 min Boniface has space in centrefield, finds Adli, and his shot is blocked at source by Coufal. Moyes needs to try something, because West Ham no longer have the legs to get to the ball first.
73 min “This is not meant as a criticism of his footballing abilities but is it just me or is Kurt Zouma the guy who looks least like a footballer ever?” wonders Stephen McCrossan. “I always think he looks as if he’s wearing some very slippy shoes and might come crashing to the ground at any moment. Also are Leverkusen always this terrible? Presumably not.”
Definitely not, but I take it you don’t remember Gus Caesar?
72 min Bowen doesn’t get a free-kick he wants and is duly booked for mouth.
72 min Don’t forget, Leverkusen have a 43-game unbeaten run to protect. They’ll be very keen to avoid defeat here, but to do that they need to commit men forward, except they won’t want to risk their slender advantage in the process.
71 min Elsewhere, it’s still Atalanta (3) 0-1 (1) Liverpool.
70 min There’s more assurance about Leverkusen’s passing now, but they don’t look great at the back. Problem being, West Ham are running out of gas and ideas, as I type Fabianski diving low to prang clear Frimpong’s cross.
68 min A fourth change for Leverkusen, Adli on for Grimaldo. I imagine Moyes also quite fancies making a chance, he just doesn’t have much quality available to him. Maybe Ings in the last 15, but otherwise it’s kids.
66 min Left in space down the right as Palacios moves through midfield, Frimpong accepts the ball and crosses, getting it so wrong it suddenly looks like it might sneak inside the near post. But Fabianski gets down to it well and shoves away.
65 min Palacios to Frimpong who jabs a cross into the box … and Coufal clears. West Ham, who aren’t really used to pressing, are tiring, and now they’re chasing the ball.
64 min West Ham are still the better team but Leverkusen are keeping the ball much better, picking spaces between the lines, and you get the sense that another goal isn’t far away. But for whom, Chris Kamara?!
62 min Alvarez brings it away and finds Kudus, who finds Antonio down the left; West Ham are enjoying this, but when the ball goes right, Coufal crosses and Kovar collects.
60 min Ogbonna humps over the top and Hincapie panics! He takes a poor touch, heavy and towards his own goal, falls over, and down the right side of the box, Bowen is in! He’s got time too, but then he also panics, swishing a shot so wide of the far post it doesn’t go behind, and when the ball comes back, he can’t find a way of getting a proper head on it at the far post.
58 min Tapsoba holds off Antonio as they pursue a long ball; not many can say that, and though the West Ham man wants a free-kick, the ref thinks not.
57 min “On-topic this time,” begins James Humphries. “Cannot tell a lie, I would love it – love it! – if the Moyesiah could somehow get another European trophy. He got *redacted* (or whatever word the Grauniad subs replace that with) at Man United, and there seems to be an undercurrent of at least some outlets wanting him to fail for being an ageing Scottish dude who likes a solid defence. I, uh, obviously have no dog in this race though. Also, that dance he did after the conference league win. Man, that warmed my heart.”
He made his bed at United, I’d say. I don’t blame him for failing at a job for which he wasn’t equipped and he was also served a donkey, but nevertheless I was surprised to find myself pleased for him when he won the Conference.
56 min On which point, I find it astonishing how often we see dreadful corners like that one taken. What would be a suitable punishment for them? A fine might discourage players from taking them, but what if every player gets fined every time it happens? Or perhaps a noogie or similar? I think we’ve solved this.
55 min Grimaldo’s corner is a stinker, easily hacked away at the front post by Coufal.
53 min Leverkusen are more involved in the game now, Grimaldo pulling wide and taking possession. He can’t make anything of it, but we barely saw him during the first half, and as I type a ball down the line sets him away again, Coufal sliding in to challenge at cost of a corner. On the touchline, meanwhile, Moyes urges his defenders to step up.
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51 min Better from Leverkusen, Frimpong crossing from the right for Wirtz, at the back post. He’s in space too so might bring the ball down, but instead he opts to half-volley, barely connecting with a miserable squirt wide of the near post.
50 min There are lots of ways to describe how football works and these days we use lots of complex technical terms and evidence. But the simple things remain true, and Graeme Souness’ line – “the team that gets to the ball first wins” – tell us exactly why this game is going as it is.
49 min Xkaha gives it straight to Bowen and though nothing comes of it, the early signs suggest Leverkusen still aren’t at it.
49 min Stanisic to Frimpong … and he lets the ball roll under his foot.
48 min So those changes: Boniface might hold it up better than Shick did, and will certainly offer greater threat in behind, while Frimpong is electric down the right and will look to push Kudus back.
46 min Surely Leverkusen won’t play as poorly in the second half as they did in the first. But West Ham now know that the way to discomfit them is to step on not step off and I doubt they’ll retreat.
46 min Alonso makes two changes, Frimpong and Boniface – so the first choice right-wing-back and striker – replacing Tella and Shick.
46 min We go again…
Our teams are back with us, and this second half is going to be a jazzer. Dive in, people!
Talking of Atalanta, anyone remember this?
In Bergamo, it’s still 1-0 Liverpool on the night, 3-1 Atalanta on aggregate.
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Half-time email: “Loving the picture of it kicking off, with that calmest of calm heads, Granit Xhaka, in the centre of it all restoring the peace,” writes Tim Smith. “Whispering sweet nothings into Mickey’s ear I’m sure!”
Roy Keane gets between Neil Lennon and David Beckham as tempers fray in Ryan Giggs' Testimonial pic.twitter.com/PxYpV8X5Mc
— Liam Kelly (@cfcliamk96) April 10, 2021
Half-time entertainment:
Half-time: West Ham United (1) 1-0 (2) Bayer Leverkusen
West Ham were decent, Leverkusen were dreadful. Test for Xabi Alonso, his side’s unbeaten record and Europa League quest under serious pressure, while David Moyes fairly bounced down the tunnel.
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45+5 min Ward-Prowse goes for goal, aiming for the far side-netting, high up, but he doesn’t get sufficient elevation, allowing the keeper to flap away, just.
45+3 min Since West Ham scored and actually from a while before that,, Leverkusen have mustered no threat whatsoever, and as the first half chugs to a close, it’s the home side banging at the door; as I type, Kudus, who’s been excellent, wins a corner and Tella goes down.
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45+2 min Aguerd can’t carry on nor can he struggle to the break; he’s replaced by Ogbonna.
45 min We’ll have five additional minutes.
45 min We see the Alvarez curler again and I’ll tell you what, that was going close; no matter, because Palacios fouls Alvarez and Cresswell now stands behind a free-kick 30- yards out; he floats into the box but towards no one, and the ball flies behind.
44 min Kudus digs out a cross from the left and Bowen can’t get at it, but West Ham have Leverkusen boxed, Alvarez curling from the edge only for Antonio to block the effort, before Coufal smacks one straight at Kovar.
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42 min Email! “Desperately harsh on Lille,” says James Humphries, “though I reckon Villa did enough to deserve it. Mainly, though: could broadcasters just stop cutting to kids greeting in the stands? Made Brazil getting papped out by Belgium in 2018 much less fun, and they had a shot of a wee Lille fan bawling his eyes out just there. Like, we are football fans in late-stage capitalism; ffs don’t show us people losing their innocence in real-time.”
I saw that too, and it does seem unnecessary, though also part of the structure now.
42 min Aguerd won’t be able to continue, so Ogbonna is readying himself.
41 min Talking of Antonio, this is worth your time – every single second of it, please.
"People's priorities are wrong."
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 11, 2024
Michail Antonio discusses his experience of racism in football and his view on how it should be dealt with in the professional game.
Warning: Some viewers may find some of this interview upsetting. pic.twitter.com/ywVEx6hQbh
40 min Another decent ball into the box and again Antonio is not only up but makes first contact – he’s such a handful when properly served – and Hicapie does really well to block him off and nudge away.
39 min I don’t actually think Alonso needs to find tactical tweaks because that’s not the issue here. Rather, his team just need to play better, work harder and focus more; I daresay he’ll be apprising them of these realities at half-time.
37 min Oh man, Ageurd comes around Shick to intercept a ball to feet, rolling over his ankle in the process, and he no lies prostrate at an awkward angle, beating the ground in pain. It may be one of those that’s agony for a few seconds before wearing off, but it may also be the end of his evening.
35 min Leverkusen need half-time because they’re barely featuring now. Again, Bowen finds space to cross, swerving in on his left foot but low this time, picking out the corridor, and Antonio launches himself into a hitch-kick … but can’t quite connect.
34 min Villa have beaten Lille on penalties, Emi Martínez enjoying his life yet further. More fool those who denied the Prem’s primacy following last evening’s activities.
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32 min This is shaping up, mates!
30 min It’s heating up on the touchline and Billy McKinley, a member of West Han’s backroom is sent off; where’s Knollsy when you need him eh? Oh and look at that, EVERYTHING that NO ONE wants to see: a phalanx of players jostling, chanting “Fight, fight fight!” with Antonio and Tah at their centre. They’re both booked and a replay shows that Tapsoba wouldn’t return the ball; he may or may not have also said Antonio smelled, to which Antonio may have replied “I know you do”.
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29 min And here it comes, Kossounou replaced by Tapsoba. He goes straight down the tunnel and you feel for him; that’s an embarrassment none of us will ever grasp though, on the other hand, I doubt he wonders if buying a bottle rather than a can of Coke is extravagant.
28 min Yup, Taposoba is getting ready. Kossounou isn’t long for this match.
27 min In Lille, it’s gone to penalties, and Villa lead 2-1 with their hosts having missed.
25 min Poor old Kossounou. On the ball on the edge of his own box, he’s put under a bit of pressure and promptly passes into touch. And what’s this?! Kudus, out on the left, curls a terrific cross to the back post and Bowen has an aeon to wait under underneath it, opting for a sidefooter rather than laces and making decent connection too! But scrambling down by his near post, Kovar does just enough to block it to safety.
24 min So far, this has been an old skool Canon League Division One match, and that’s suiting West Ham far more than Leverkusen.
22 min West Ham are dominating now, Ward-Prowse making his way down the left and standing up a cross, but Antonio, forced to generate his own power, does a good job but can’t find the power or direction to seriously trouble Kovar.
20 min Stanisic boots the ball away and avoids a card, Moyes protesting and noising up the crowd while Alonso urges his men to chill. They’ve not been rattled much this season, but they’re not enjoying this.
18 min I wonder if Alonso will make an early change, because his defenders look petrified. An up and under allows Kudus to barge Stanisic off it from underneath, and for a second, he’s a chance to roll a square-pass into the path of the onrushing Ward-Prowse. But instead he opts to shoot, a deflection forcing Kovar to make a scrambling save, just.
16 min The referee has a quite stupendous window’s peak.
15 min The crowd fancy this now, and so do their team. Kovar and Kossounou both look extremely uncomfy out there, and if West Ham can put them under, I’d not be surprised of more mistakes follow. I wondered if it was breaking the rules to accuse someone of having a mare so early on, but then I remembered Tiemoue Bakayoko for Chelsea at Watford in 2018.
GOAL! West Ham United (1) 1-0 (2) (Antonio 13)
Kossounou, who’s having a mare, gives the ball away, West Ham work it to Bowen, infield off the right and 35 yards out. He curls in a brute of a cross, Kovar eventually comes, and Antonio outjumps and outmuscles both him and the unfortunate Kossounou to head a livener into the net! Lift off!
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13 min Already, this has been more of a contest than the first leg.
11 min A poor throw from Coufal eventually winds up with Palacios, who shoves forward for Tella; he takes a touch, has a look, and from the edge drills a riser that Fabianski, 39 today, turns around the post. The corner comes to nowt, but that was far too easy for Leverkusen.
10 min So far, this has been a bit of a mess, and Kossounou, who looks nervous, gives it away to Kudus … whose heavy touch means he’s immediately unloaded.
8 min Kovar, pressed by Ward-Prowse, sways inside then passes feet over ball and moves outside. Dicey, but lovely.
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7 min There’s been a development in Bergamo! Mohamed Salah’s penalty puts Liverpool 1-0 up on the night and 3-1 down on aggregate. Atalanta will be feeling it.
6 min The free-kick, 40 yards out, goes square, and Coufal duly leathers it behind.
5 min Both sides enjoy a bit of possession knocking the ball about at the back, but Fabianski isn’t having any of that nonsense, humping it long, and when Kossounou’s touch is poor, Ward-Prowse nicks away possession, wears the inevitable leg high across his path, and the defender is booked.
3 min It’s been all West Ham so far and the crowd are behind them, but also so far, there’s been precious little guile and, as I type, Leverkusen settle, Alvarez forced to haul Palacios down when he brings the ball away.
2 min A year ago, Kovar was Man United’s fourth-choice keeper and now he’s a champion; Jadon Sancho will fancy taking that a step further.
1 min Kudus progesses down the left and crosses, Coufal slings it back in from the other wide, and Kovar claims.
1 min From kick-off, West Ham shmeiss it long. Of course they do.
1 min And away we go!
…and here come the teams!
Our players are tunnelled…
As for Leverkusen, they’ll fancy themselves to stretch the pitch, forcing West Ham’s back four to cover the width of it, thereby creating space for Wirtz. They’ll also reckon Soucek not to have the mobility to keep up with them, which will leave Álvarez with a lot of work to do.
Where is the game? I can’t lie, if I was a West Ham fan I’d have wanted the Moyesiah to be a little more bullish rather than extol the quality of their opponents. But they’re a live dog here, and will be looking to Cresswell and Ward-Prowse to deliver quality into the box, with Bowen and Kudus seeking the spaces between the Leverkusen centre-backs and full-backs. I daresay Moyes will also wants Soucek running off Xhaka, but if Leverkusen dominate possession this all becomes much harder. So I’d expect the Irons to try and play their way into the game – I’m no sure about that, as I wonder if their best hope is to get after it early – then commit more men forward as things develop.
I just saw someone in the crowd wearing the West Ham Dagenham Motors kit from the 90s. My school didn’t do sport properly – inner London comp, nae grounds – but we played one game, and somehow, our teacher turned up with 11 West Ham Dagenham Motors kits. You can imagine how that went down. I’m afraid the film right to this epic tale have already been optioned.
David Moyes tells TNT that it’s a big task but West Ham will approach it in the right way. They won’t open up immediately – ha, who thought they would? – but will want to put more pressure on “a really supreme opponent” than they did last week.
Otherwise, Mavrapanos has an injury to the sole of his foot but he hopes Bowen can make a difference and notes that this is his side’s third quarter in three years and they won the first two.
Matthew Matty Cash has equalised for Villa in Lille; it’s 3-3 on aggregate so they’re playing extra time.
All that, 20 minutes before the teams come out? That is one confident manager.
Asked about Florian Wirtz, he rhapsodises “a special player”, saying they need to get him on the ball in the right positions. He makes runs that can’t be taught, in the pocket and between the lines, is really good at making the right pass at the right moment, to the millimetre, and they’ve been pushing him this season to crave more goals.
More Alonso: against a low block – which they faced against West Ham last week – the centre-backs are important and their rest defence needs to be good so they can counter-press effectively. They don’t want to face many transitions, but they’ve had enough time during the year to work on that kind of thing and now it’s an automatism.
Alonso speaks! Sunday, when they won the league for the first time ever, was “very special” but from Tuesday they focused on what’s a big task tonight. West Ham are a “very intense team”, Bowen is back, and they hammered Freiburg. But the plan isn’t to nurse the lead, rather to play football and try and win the game.
Asked specifically about Bowen, he compliments his energy and quality, saying he’s “one of the top players”, then asked about his style, he says it’s mainly down to having good players. it’s not really about the tactics, rather about the principles – they can switch formations and they’re not a soft team.
I wonder why Alonso has made those changes. Frimpong certainly seemed to celebrate well the other day but I imagine the rotation is because he’s got the Cup, Europe and the unbeaten record to defend so, with a 2-0 lead, this is a decent time to make changes – especially given the quality of his squad. On which point, I’m really looking forward to seeing who arrives in the summer, because one big sale plus Champions League money equals decent scope in the market.
The return of Jarrod Bowen is a massive boon for West Ham. Obviously he scores goals, but more than that, he’s stepped up a level this season – this isn’t a run of form º and his teammates know they can rely on him.
Elsewhere: in the Conference, Lille lead Villa 2-0 on the night and 3-2 on aggregate with 10 minutes to go.
Leverkusen, meanwhile, make changes from the first leg too. Out go Edmund Tapsoba, Jeremie Frimpong and Amine Adli, with Piero Hincapié, Odilon Kossounou and Nathan Tella coming on. They too change from 3-4-2-1 to 4-2-3-1.
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West Ham are without Lucas Paquetá, who’s suspended – that’s a massive miss – but his replacement is Edson Álvarez, who was suspended for the first leg. Otherwise, Konstantinos Mavropanos and Emerson, also suspended, drop out, with Nayef Aguerd and Jarrod Bowen coming in. As a consequence, there’s also a formation-change, from 3-4-2-1 to 4-2-3-1 or, as Uefa have it, 4-3-3.
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I’ll write those down, then we’ll wonder what they might mena.
Teams!
West Ham United (4-2-3-1): Fabianski; Coufal, Zouma, Aguerd, Cresswell; Ward-Prowse, Alvarez; Kudus, Soucek, Bowen; Antonio. Subs: Anang, Knightbridge, Johnson, Cornet, Ings, Ogbonna, Casey, Mubama, Swyer, Orford.
Bayer Leverkusen (4-2-3-1): Kovar; Stanisic, Tah, Kossounou, Hincapie; Xhaka, Palacios; Tella, Wirtz, Grimaldo; Schick. Subs: Hradecky, Lomb, Hofmann, Andrich, Tapsoba, Arthur, Adli, Boniface, Frimpong, Puerta, Izekor.
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Also for you…
Preamble
Bundesliga champions, DFB-Pokal finalists and an overall record of Played 43 Won 38 Drawn 5 Lost 0; somehow, Xabi Alonso has magicked Neverkusen into Everkusen and his squad stand on the cusp of one of football’s all-time great seasons.
In a sense they’ve already started next term too, retaining the services of their manager despite stiff competition for them. So, with that decided and the pressure of a title race converted into ecstatic relief, they arrive in London looking and feeling impregnable.
Not so fast. While it’s true that Victor Boniface’s injury-time goal which turned 1-0 into 2-0 seemed like the decisive moment of this tie, West Ham have won every European home game across the last two seasons and, like almost every Premier League side, have the artillery to hurt any opponent – if they can get enough of the ball.
Which is a big “if”, granted, but Leverkusen will only progress if they’re able to contain Jarrod Bowen, Michail Antonio and Mohammed Kudus – while dealing with West Ham’s threat at set-pieces, and that too is a not insubstantial “if”. Chances are they find a way because that’s what they do, but if they’re still celebrating their weekend triumph and even if they’re not, tonight will be a serious challenge.
Kick-off: 8pm BST
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