West Ham Conquers Bayer in Europa League Thriller

West Ham United took a massive step towards the Europa League semifinals with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen in the first leg of their quarterfinal tie at London Stadium.

Michail Antonio’s 13th minute strike was the difference on a night where David Moyes’ men came out with ferocious intensity to put Leverkusen on the back foot from the opening whistle.

The East Londoners suffocated their German opponents, harrying them into mistake after mistake with an in-your-face press that Leverkusen simply could not handle. The visitors struggled mightily to gain any foothold, completing just 62% of their passes in a disjointed first half display.

Antonio made them pay, powering home a close-range header from Pablo Fornals’ pinpoint cross to the delight of the raucous home support. It was no more than West Ham deserved for an utterly dominant opening period.

Bayer finally found some rhythm as the second half wore on, but still created little of note to trouble Alphonse Areola in the West Ham goal. Instead, it was the hosts who looked more likely to add to their tally, with Antonio and Jarrod Bowen both going close.

In the end, 1-0 was enough to give the Hammers the advantage heading into next week’s second leg in Germany. But they will be wary of Leverkusen’s formidable home record – the Bundesliga side are unbeaten in 43 matches at the BayArena stretching back over a year.

Xabi Alonso’s men will need to overturn a much-improved performance if they are to keep that incredible run intact and turn the tie back in their favor. As for West Ham, they find themselves just 90 minutes away from a first European semifinal since 1976.

Man of the Match - Declan Rice (West Ham) The England international was a colossus in midfield, breaking up virtually every Leverkusen attack while providing the platform for West Ham’s incisive pressing game. His relentless running and intelligent positioning made it an exhausting night for the visitor’s midfielders.