Bayer Leverkusen were dominant in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final against West Ham, winning thanks to two late goals.
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Substitutes Hofmann and Boniface scoredWest Ham have huge mountain to climbXabi Alonso's side still on for trebleGettyTELL ME MORE
Leverkusen – who can still win a treble of the Bundesliga, Europa League and DFB-Pokal – were dominant throughout the 90 minutes against the Hammers in the Europa League quarter-final, although they needed two late goals, both from substitutes, to get over the line.
Alejandro Grimaldo unleashed a fierce effort from range 20 minutes in, but he was denied by an exceptional save from Lukasz Fabianski.
Soon after, West Ham were dealt a bitter blow as Lucas Paqueta was shown a yellow card for a reckless challenge, meaning he will be suspended from the second leg.
Fabianski made another excellent save on the half-hour mark, denying Patrik Schick, and the two teams subsequently went in level.
In a second half short on gilt-edged chances, Fabianski was called on again in the 70th minute, and he pulled out a superb save to divert a Schick header over the bar.
But his resistance was broken eventually, as from a corner, a shot was blocked and dropped to substitute Jonas Hofmann, who volleyed home through a clutch of bodies, with Fabianski unsighted.
And another sub, Victor Boniface, added a second late on with a header from a corner, meaning Leverkusen remain firmly on course for a historic treble. The Hammers have a mountain to climb.
AdvertisementTHE MVP
Xabi Alonso transformed the game with his substitutions. Both Hofmann and Boniface came off the bench and both hit the back of the net. His team were dominant throughout and fully merited their 2-0 victory; were it not for Fabianski, they would have won by four or five.
GettyTHE BIG LOSER
Paqueta is a brilliant orchestrator at times but his decision to fly into a tackle in the first half that saw him booked was a hugely rash one and it has left him suspended for next week's return leg as a result of his yellow card. He was lucky not to be sent off, such was the aggression in the challenge, and David Moyes now faces a real headache as he looks to replace his creative impetus.
WHAT COMES NEXT?
West Ham play Fulham on Sunday in a London derby before next week's return leg, while Leverkusen play Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga on the same day.