Xabi Alonso singled out two West Ham players for praise after his Bayer Leverkusen side eliminated the Hammers from the Europa League.
The Bundesliga champions won the first leg 2-0 and progressed to the semi-finals with a 3-1 overall win after drawing 1-1 at the London Stadium.
West Ham delivered a commendable performance against unbeaten Leverkusen, with Michail Antonio’s 13th-minute header providing David Moyes’ side genuine optimism in the tie.
The Hammers persisted in seeking an equalizer, but Jeremie Frimpong scored late to settle the tie and maintain Leverkusen’s unbeaten record in all competitions this season.
Alonso acknowledged that his team had to endure some ‘challenging’ moments in east London against ‘physical’ West Ham and offered special praise for Hammers stars Jarrod Bowen and Lucas Paqueta.
‘We were prepared and knew they were going to exert great pressure,’ Alonso told TNT Sports. ‘We were not comfortable in our structure, we were unable to find a rhythm.
‘We had some careless loose balls and the momentum was with West Ham. To be honest, they were the best team at half-time, we were not at our best. Fortunately, we made changes at half-time.
‘I am just happy to go through. In the Europa League you always have tough moments.
‘West Ham have good players and energy. Credit to them, they played really hard, totally different to what they did in Leverkusen.
‘You need to deal with difficult moments, it’s not always possible to control the whole 90 minutes. It was key we didn’t concede that second or third goal.
‘We know the physicality of West Ham. They also have impressive players like Jarrod Bowen and Lucas Paqueta.’
Asked about his side preserving their unbeaten record, Alonso added: ‘The records are a result of a good job. It’s really nice and we are happy to do that.’
Bayer Leverkusen, who secured their first ever Bundesliga title last weekend, will face Serie A side Roma for a place in the Europa League final.
Another Italian club – Atalanta – take on Ligue 1 outfit Marseille in the other semi-final tie after eliminating West Ham’s Premier League rivals Liverpool.
