Leverkusen remain unbeaten! They drew 1:1 with West Ham and keep their chance for the treble

West Ham went down 0:2 in Leverkusen, so they had to work hard at home and the performance matched it. The Brits led for a long time and chased a second goal, but instead Leverkusen struck at the end and celebrated a valuable promotion to the semi-finals of the Europa League with a 1-1 draw!

The opening match of the Europa League quarter-finals didn’t offer much footballing beauty and it seemed that we wouldn’t see a goal, but Leverkusen scored twice in the end and West Ham returned home with a 0:2 defeat.

They had to do the job at home if they wanted to have any hope of winning a European trophy. And that’s what the first half looked like! Leverkusen had the first chance, but a shot by Telly was covered by Fabianski. From then on, it was mostly West Ham.

The British club scored in the 13th minute when Antonio got through after a Bowen centre to give the Hammers hope. They tried to level the series by the end of the half, but Bowen alone in front of the goalkeeper disappointed the crowd.

We didn’t see a second goal in the first half and at 1:0 Leverkusen, who celebrated their first ever Bundesliga title on Sunday, would still advance. Xabi Alonso’s team hadn’t lost yet this season, so they had to work hard to keep it going.

West Ham raced towards a second goal, but after an hour of play Bowen again missed a great chance when he missed the ball perfectly on the penalty spot.

Six minutes later an equaliser could have come, but Frimpong didn’t challenge Fabianski. The same player could have decided the double in the 83rd minute when he escaped alone on goal but sent the ball over and the fightback continued.

In the end, the Czech players received yellow cards, Soucek for a scuffle and Kovar for stalling, and then Leverkusen celebrated. Frimpong put a smile on the faces of the German fans after a run and with the score 1-1 Leverkusen progressed.

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