West Ham: Michail Antonio makes Mohammed Kudus admission after what happened v Bayer Leverkusen
Michail Antonio has admitted he expected West Ham teammate Mohammed Kudus to score during the 2-0 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen on Thursday (11 April).
The Hammers only had one real chance to score against the Bundesliga side, as Kudus was played through in goal by Antonio before firing straight at Matej Kovar in the 10th minute.
This turned out to be West Ham's only shot on target as Leverkusen dominated proceedings in the Europa Leage quarter-final first-leg tie, having 73 per cent of possession and scoring twice late on to the leave the Hammers on the brink of elimination. [FotMob]
In quotes reported by Mirror Football on Saturday (13 April, page 3 of football pullout), Antonio said: "I thought, 'Mo is finishing that' - but today wasn't the day and, hopefully, next week it will be. Hopefully, everything falls for us in the second leg."
West Ham United forwards can hurt Bayer Leverkusen
Despite the lack of action in Leverkusen's penalty area, West Ham's front three saw plenty of the ball, and Antonio was maybe unlucky not to be given a chance at scoring throughout the tie.
The home crowd at the London Stadium will, hopefully, be a key difference between the two Europa League legs. David Moyes will certainly hope so.
Although Xabi Alonso's team are unbeaten in all competitions this season, there will be weaknesses for the Hammers to exploit, showcased by their struggles against Qarabag FK in the previous round.
Moyes will need Lucas Paqueta and Kudus to be at their very best for the crucial European tie and will also be holding their breath over Jarrod Bowen's potential return from injury.
West Ham cannot afford to concede any more goals after the initial 2-0 loss, so the likes of Kurt Zouma and Konstantinos Mavropanos must be fully focused throughout the whole 90 minutes.
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