Michail Antonio slammed the referee after West Ham lost 3-1 on aggregate to Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League quarter-finals and said it was like “playing against 14 men” .
David Moyes’ side made a positive start from a 2-0 defeat in the first leg and are dreaming of knocking out the newly crowned Bundesliga champions after Antonio scored early at the London Stadium.
The game changed in the second half as West Ham missed chances before half-time. Jeremy Frimpong’s late equalizer sent Leverkusen into the semi-finals against Roma, but Antonio was unhappy with a series of penalties from Spanish referee Jose María Sanchez and was booed by the crowd. .
“It feels like you’re not playing against 11 people, you’re playing against 14, including two Lino,” said the West Ham striker. “It’s just one of those things where you have to keep pushing, making decisions your way and staying professional.”
Moyes was also less than happy with the refereeing and praised his team’s performance. “We played a very good team,” the West Ham manager said. “I think we have a chance to move up two or three places at some point. If I were to leave Europe, I’d want to go out and play like that. It’s a fantastic effort.
“If anything, we may have run out of fresh legs. But I’m very limited in the changes I can make. I don’t have Calvin Phillips, Dinos [Mavropanos], [Lucas] Paquita. Some of it is our own fault, but some of it is due to injuries. We ran out of energy in the second half.
Xabi Alonso admits Bayer Leverkusen’s 44-game unbeaten run in all competitions this season is down to luck. “We can say it was a good lesson and we are happy to be in the semi-finals,” Alonso said.
Newsletter Promotion Post
Bayer Leverkusen, who are chasing the treble, have a chance to take revenge after losing to Roma in last season’s semi-finals. “We are happy that we are back in the Europa League semi-finals and face Roma again. It is a different side, they have a new coach and the energy of Roma is good. But in football you always have a second chance.
