Bayer Leverkusen remain unbeaten, beat West Ham in Europa League
West Ham United suffered a 2-0 loss against undefeated Bayer Leverkusen in their UEFA Europa League 2023-24 quarter-finals first-leg tie. Leverkusen, who can win their maiden Bundesliga title on Sunday, are aiming for a treble this season. They are in the DFB-Pokal final and are now on the brink of reaching the Europa League semis. The Hammers have serious work to do next week.
It has been a dream campaign for the German side
Leverkusen have 24 wins and four draws from 28 matches in the Bundesliga. They are a win away with six matches left this season. Xabi Alonso's men won five successive DFB-Pokal matches to reach the final. Leverkusen have won all six of their matches in the Europa League group stage. They drew and won one match in R16 before beating the Hammers now.
37th win for Leverkusen this season
Leverkusen have played 42 matches this season in all competitions. They have claimed 37 wins in addition to drawing five. They are the only side who are unbeaten in all competitions. Leverkusen raced to 118 goals, including 26 in the Europa League.
Match stats: Sheer dominance from the home side
Leverkusen dominated West Ham at home. They made 33 attempts with 13 shots on target. The Hammers managed just one shot on target from one attempt. Alonso's side also had 73% ball possession and a 90% pass accuracy. They clocked 743 passes. As per Squawka, Leverkusen had 76 touches in the opposition box and had 2.25 expected goals.
Leverkusen dig deep to break West Ham's resolve
The first half was a goalless affair as Leverkusen saw plenty of the ball and also made the West Ham keeper work. The hosts had to wait until the 83rd minute when Jonas Hofmann scored after a corner to break West Ham's resolve. Victor Boniface then made it 2-0 in the 91st minute after the ball crossed to the back post following a corner.
Key stats for Hofmann and Boniface
As per Opta, Hofmann was directly involved in two goals in a Europa League match for the first time in seven years (1 goal, 1 assist). The last time he managed to do so was for Borussia Monchengladbach in the 2016-17 season. In 25 matches across all competitions for Leverkusen, Boniface owns 16 goals this season, including four in the Europa League.