West Ham United: Out-of-depth Michail Antonio struggles as Bayer Leverkusen dominate
Michail Antonio struggled to make an impact as West Ham United fell to a 2-0 defeat against Bayer Leverkusen in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final.
It was clear from the outset that, with a five-at-the-back formation, David Moyes wasn’t looking for the win, but rather trying not to lose.
This allowed Xabi Alonso’s side to play their own game which saw them dominate possession and limit the number of Hammers’ chances.
The defensive-minded risk didn’t pay off in the end as Jonas Hofman and Victor Boniface gave the home side a two-goal advantage to take to the London Stadium.
How did Michail Antonio perform for West Ham United v Bayer Leverkusen?
It was certainly a day to forget for the majority of the West Ham forward players who had very little going for them throughout.
According to FotMob, the Hammers had just 27 per cent possession and as a result, they had just one shot, one corner and zero big chances.
With this being the case, Antonio was often left isolated and as a result, failed to make an impact against the Bundesliga leaders.
He had the least touches of anyone on the pitch with 27 and with that, he only completed eight of his 16 attempted passes [FotMob].
There was a need for the Jamaican to hold up the ball and allow his side to get up the pitch and turn the pressure the other way.
Despite this need, he only won one aerial duel and only won 63% of his ground duels. It is safe to say he struggled up top on his own against some top defenders.
As a striker to have no shots on goal and just three touches in the opposition’s box, especially in a European quarter-final, will be of great frustration.
It is not directly his fault that he struggled to get into the game but he may have found himself out of his depth against one of the best form sides in Europe.
In other West Ham news, VAR changes have been mooted after what happened v Wolves.
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