Xabi Alonso and his team officially won the right to play in the Europa League semi-finals after a 1-1 draw against West Ham.
With home field advantage, West Ham players were the ones who took the initiative after the opening whistle from referee Jose Sanchez. However, the first notable situation of the match belonged to Bayer Leverkusen. In the 10th minute, receiving the ball from outside the 16m50 box, Nathan Tella launched a dangerous long-range shot forcing goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski to fly to block.
In the 13th minute, originating from an attack on the home team’s right wing, Jarrod Bowen made an uncomfortable cross in which Michail Antonio jumped high to head in close range, opening the score for West Ham.
In the 23rd minute, starting from the attack on the left wing of “The Hammers”, Mohammed Kudus made a hanging ball towards the far post for Jarrod Bowen to cross in and finish the ball from close range with his right foot. Fortunately for Bayer Leverkusen, goalkeeper Matej Kovar promptly closed the corner and made a successful save.
In the next minutes of the first half, West Ham played more dominantly than Xabi Alonso and his team. However, they lacked precision in the final situations to score the second goal.
The first half ended without any more goals scored. The two teams left the field for a break with the advantage favoring coach David Moyes’s team.
The first 15 minutes of the second half saw a balanced match between the two clubs. Bayer Leverkusen tried to hold the ball more to reduce the excitement coming from home team West Ham.
In the 60th minute, Piero Hincapie’s lack of observation caused the player to have the ball stolen by Jarrod Bowen right inside the Bayer Leverkusen penalty area. Fortunately for Xabi Alonso and his team, the English winger’s right-foot shot at a tight angle went wide of the post.
In the 65th minute, at a distance of more than 20 meters to the right wing, Jeremie Frimpong suddenly shot straight towards the home team’s goal. However, in this situation, goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski played focused to promptly push the ball out.
In the 82nd minute, originating from a counterattack by Bayer Leverkusen, Victor Boniface launched a smart pass to allow Jeremie Frimpong to escape to face Lukasz Fabianski. Even though he had enough time and space to make a decision, the Dutch player shot the ball over the bar.
In the 89th minute, Jeremie Frimpong broke through in the West Ham penalty area before shooting with his left foot, hitting Aaron Cresswell, changing direction and flying into the net before the helpless eyes of goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski. 1-1 for Bayer Leverkusen.
The remaining minutes are not enough for both teams to score more goals. The final score is 1-1. Xabi Alonso and his team officially won tickets to the Europa League semi-finals with a total score of 3-1 after two matches.