West Ham star Michail Antonio has sent a clear message to David Moyes about his tactics in the wake of the 2-0 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen. It is an achievement for West Ham to have made the quarter-finals of the Europa League.
There would certainly be no shame in the Hammers being knocked out by invincible German champions-elect Bayer Leverkusen.
But the last thing you want as a West Ham player, manager or fan is to go out with regrets.
West Ham supporters want to feel like they at least went down swinging. And it seems the players do too. Mo case for the defence in second leg
Hindsight is a wonderful thing in football.
Had West Ham held on for another few minutes against Bayer Leverkusen many would be hailing a tactical masterclass from David Moyes.
But the manager’s ultra defensive tactics at the BayArena ultimately resulted in a 2-0 defeat which has left West Ham with a mountain to climb. Moyes ignored a Bayer Leverkusen tip-off from an expert and West Ham paid the price. The boss decided to play counter attack against a team who have conceded just one goal to that very tactic all season long.
It has left the Hammers stuck between a rock and a hard place for the second leg at the London Stadium.
But one West Ham star has told the boss exactly what the team must do. Antonio sends clear message to Moyes about his tactics The striker says the approach must be the polar opposite to the first leg.
“We knew they were a good team before the game, and they showed that tonight,” Antonio told the club’s official website.
“It was tough out there, and you can see they have so much belief in how they play…
“We can’t get too down though – it is what it is, and we’ll have to come back fighting back at home next week.
“We can take positives from this first leg – we managed to create a couple of decent opportunities on the counter attack, and we’ve got a chance to come back.
“We’re going to have to go for it, and hopefully we can do that for the fans.”
Hammers have looked much better playing on the front foot
Moyes has seen how much better his side can be when they do indeed ‘go for it’.
While his tactics were not to everyone’s tastes in the first leg, they were understandable.
West Ham may as well go all out in the second leg and have no regrets.
Better that than being conservative and wondering what might have been.
Leverkusen have shown against the likes of Qarabag and Freiburg recently that they can be got at defensively. Qarabag scored twice in both games against Xabi Alonso’s side. And Freiburg also scored twice against them.
If West Ham can do the same then they’re back in the tie.
And who knows what could happen if the Hammers can claw their way back to force extra-time.
