West Ham United: Lukasz Fabianski drops ‘tricky’ ref verdict after Leverkusen clash
Lukasz Fabianski thinks referee Jose Maria Sanchez had a “tricky game to control” as West Ham crashed out of the Europa League to Bayer Leverkusen but ultimately it was a “fair” match.
The official came in for some criticism for being a bit card happy in the 1-1 draw at the London Stadium on Thursday (18 April) that saw the Hammers exit at the quarter-final stage in an aggregate 3-1 defeat.
Indeed, forward Michail Antonio shared his opinion of the match officials after the full-time whistle, which could land him in hot water with UEFA.
However, veteran keeper Fabianski was much more diplomatic when speaking to the official West Ham website (19 April).
He said: “The referee had a tricky game to control and there were some difficult decisions for him, but I think in the end it was a fair game and there wasn’t really anything nasty happening.
“There was some heat-of-the-moment incidents due to the magnitude of the game, which always adds to the way you react.”
Did West Ham deserve to win v Bayer Leverkusen?
David Moyes chose his tactical approach better in the second leg compared to the away game last week (11 April) there is no doubt that.
In the first leg, the Hammers barely had a kick of the ball as Xabi’s Alonso’s side enjoyed 73 per cent possession and completed three times the number of passes as West Ham [FotMob].
This resulted in Leverkusen having 33 shots with 13 on target equating to 2.41 expected goals across the 90 minutes.
Moyes reverted to a more familiar 4-2-3-1 at the London Stadium and went for the win and Antonio opened the scoring after just 13 minutes to spark real hope of a brilliant fight back.
The away side still kept more possession, according to FotMob, with 58 per cent. The difference came as West Ham registered more chances than the Germans.
This time they had an xG of 1.56 with 14 shots and six on target, so it was definitely frustrating that they didn’t score another on the night.
The tie was done when Jeremie Frimpong scored a late leveller and put them two goals to the good on aggregate.
Despite a much improved second leg showing, Alonso’s men were deserving of the result on balance.
In other West Ham news, Crystal Palace will be without a first-team regular when they face the Hammers.
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