German newspaper BILD has accused David Moyes of being a sore loser after West Ham were defeated 3-1 on aggregate by Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League on Thursday (18 April).
Michail Antonio got West Ham off to the dream start, heading home a Jarrod Bowen cross, but Moyes’ team were unable to overturn the deficit as Jeremie Frimpong slotted home to finalise a 3-1 aggregate result.
The two sets of staff were involved in drama during the match, with an altercation between Antonio and Jonathan Tah sparking a tussle on the sidelines, seeing red cards handed to either bench.
Following the result, Moyes made comments towards Xabi Alonso’s coaching staff, and BILD reacted on Friday (19 April): “A good loser looks different…”
West Ham drama as Bayer Leverkusen progress in Europa League
Despite the drama and controversy surrounding the matches, West Ham could walk away from the London Stadium on Thursday night with their heads held high.
The odds were completely against them, especially with Lucas Paqueta and Emerson Palmieri unavailable, but the squad showed so much fight to take the lead and press for an equaliser on aggregate.
Of course, with the Hammers pushing further up the pitch to find a second goal to send proceedings to extra time, Frimpong caught them on the break and punished them, as league champions should be expected to do.
However, after the match, it all seemed to turn sour between the managers. Fans will have been glad to finally see Moyes show a bit of emotion and anger in his press conference, though.
Some will suggest that referee Jose Sanchez was favouring the newly-crowned Bundesliga champions, which is where most of the frustrations came from as Moyes lashed out after the match.
Alan Pardew, who was a co-commentator for talkSPORT2, questioned Sanchez’s decisions, suggesting that the Hammers had been “harshly treated” as decisions against the London side mounted up.
