West Ham United: Xabi Alonso slams David Moyes over ‘disgraceful’ incident v Bayer Leverkusen
Bayer Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso has hit back at West Ham United boss David Moyes after he labelled the Bundesliga side “a disgrace”.
The Hammers failed to take a lead into the second leg of their Europa League quarter-final as they were beaten 2-0 on Thursday (11 April) with goals from Jonas Hofmann and Victor Boniface the difference between the sides.
Hammers midfielder Lucas Paqueta was booked early in the first half and will now be suspended for the second leg and while Moyes insisted Leverkusen targeted the Brazilian, Alonso slammed the Scotsman’s comments.
As quoted by The Mirror on Friday (12 April) he said: “Oh no, I think it was a tackle that deserved a yellow card. It was fully deserved. I think David’s talking with the fourth official a lot of times, we all do, and I do as well.
“It’s nothing to talk about disgraceful. I think that we have all the right, he has to see his bench as well. I have respect for David but I thought it was the right decision from the referee. We did our thing, we didn’t focus on the other bench.”
Is Lucas Paqueta suspended for West Ham United’s Europa League clash with Bayer Leverkusen?
Whether or not Leverkusen did target Paqueta is by the by, what matters is the Brazilian fell into the trap of picking up a booking and putting his side at a major disadvantage for the second leg at the London Stadium.
While Moyes will always come out in defence of his players, the midfielder has always been capable of having a brain fade at crucial moments in big games. While he makes up for it with his immense ability, he can let himself down.
It would have been incredibly hard for the Hammers to overturn a two-goal deficit if they had the likes of Jarrod Bowen, Kalvin Phillips and Paqueta available, but without those three key men, it almost feels impossible.
Hopefully, the Irons will manage to find a way to do the impossible and book their place in the Europa League semi-finals. Moyes’ side have made a habit of doing the impossible in Europe over the last few years.
In other West Ham news, Lucas Paqueta has been slammed for a “stupid” incident during the Irons clash with Leverkusen
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