West Ham United

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West Ham goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski to TNT Sports: "Very disappointed. We worked hard for 80 minutes and then we gave two goals away from set-pieces.

"Usually defending set-pieces is our strength but you have to give a lot of credit to the opposition because they pushed the whole game.

"The more disappointing thing is that we conceded the second goal. It gives them a bit more confidence. We won't give up. We have to believe and respond in the second leg.

"I wouldn't say we ran out of energy. Both teams did their best. In the end the second set-piece felt too easy. It felt like the striker had too much space.

"We have to [believe]. We have a really good record at home. We responded in a strong way at Freiburg. They're special magical nights and hopefully the second leg will be the same."

Here are the key facts and figures following Thursday's Europa League game between West Ham United and Bayer Leverkusen.

• West Ham United have lost three of their past four away European games (W1) and have suffered consecutive losses on the road in European competition (including qualifiers) for the first time since a run of three between July 2015 and July 2016.

• Bayer Leverkusen extended their unbeaten run to 42 games in all competitions (W37 D5), last suffering a defeat in May 2023 in their last game of last season away to VfL Bochum (0-3).

• West Ham faced 33 shots in the game, their most in a game in all competitions since January 29th 2014 against Chelsea in the Premier League (39).

• West Ham goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianksi made nine saves in the game, the joint-most ever by the Poland international for West Ham (also nine v Arsenal in August 2018).

Bayer Leverkusen scored twice in the last 10 minutes to break West Ham's resistance and take the advantage after the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final.

Jonas Hoffman fired through a crowd of bodies for Xabi Alonso's side after the visitors struggled to clear a corner with seven minutes remaining.

Victor Boniface then doubled the lead in the first minute of injury time with a well-directed header from Hoffman's cross.

Alonso's hosts dominated possession but were largely frustrated by a superbly organised Hammers defence until Hofmann's late intervention.

The visitors showed great discipline to limit Leverkusen's chances for much of the game while also offering a threat on the counter through the pace and power of Michail Antonio.

Antonio created arguably the best opportunity of the match as he broke down the left and squared for Mohammed Kudus, but the Ghana winger's shot was straight at Leverkusen goalkeeper Matej Kovar.

West Ham did need a couple of very smart saves from Lukasz Fabianski as the 38-year-old keeper got down to deny Patrick Schick in the first half before leaping to tip the striker's header over the bar in the second when he looked to have been wrong-footed.

Hoffman finally found a way past Fabianski and when Boniface nodded in the second, Leverkusen were assured of victory to stretch their unbeaten run to 42 matches.

Were you at the match or did you follow it from elsewhere?

West Ham fans - let us know your thoughts on the game here

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There are three Premier League sides in European action on Thursday, with team news in and kick-offs less than an hour away.

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Lille manager Paulo Fonseca heads West Ham's shortlist if the Hammers part ways with David Moyes in the summer. (The i), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column

David Moyes has been speaking to the media before West Ham United's trip to face Bayer Leverkusen in their Europa League quarter-final first leg on Thursday.

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Moyes confirmed Jarrod Bowen, Kalvin Phillips and Edson Alvarez will all miss the match through injury.

• On Bowen's absence, he added: "He's twisted his knee and there's some sort of damage. We can't give any dates of when he might be back, unfortunately. He's an England international and we know how important he is to our team, so he'll be a miss for sure."

• Moyes is hopeful the team can "rise to the challenge and perform well" against Bundesliga leaders Leverkusen and added: "Both teams have 11 players, so it's an even game at the start. We know Leverkusen are a very good team, but we believe in our abilities."

• On how the team perform under pressure: "We'll need leadership, composure and tactical understanding in this tie, against a team who are unbeaten in 41, so we need to try and handle that."

• He said Lucas Paqueta is "hugely important" for the team adding he also "makes you pull your hair out sometimes, but when he's at his best he's brilliant".

• On Mohammed Kudus' impact: "He's a young boy who's new to the Premier League, but he's done really well. Because of the experience he's had in different countries I think he's had a better coverage than some other players, and that's helped him do so well."

• He said the club's run in Europe over the past three years means they are "not coming here without expectancy" but are "looking forward to the game". Moyes added: "It'll be difficult, but there are two legs and we're hopeful."

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West Ham defender Kurt Zouma says he is "very proud" to be leading the side out as captain in Europe.

The 29-year-old took on the armband following the departure of previous captain Declan Rice in the summer.

Zouma has been a key player in helping the side reach the quarter finals of the competition for a second time where they take on Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen in Germany on Thursday.

Speaking in the pre-match news conference, he said: "It's a huge honour for me, especially leading the team in the Europa League. It's something I thought would never happen to me.

"To lead such a great group makes me very proud.

"I've been through a lot of ups and downs, like everyone. My team-mates and coaches throughout my career have helped me, and I think all of that has helped me get to where I am today."

Opponents Leverkusen are set to be crowned champions of the German top flight for the first time and Zouma believes this match "could be the toughest challenge yet" for the team.

He added: "They haven't lost for a long time, and we know how well they have played this season.

"But, we are still confident. We know the qualities we have and we showed that against Freiburg. It's two legs, and hopefully we can get a good result tomorrow."

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West Ham striker Michail Antonio has issued a rallying cry before Thursday's Europa League quarter final first leg away to Bayer Leverkusen.

Leverkusen are 16 points clear at the top of the Bundesliga and will secure the first league title in their history with a win at home to Werder Bremen on Sunday.

"The thing is everyone thinks we've got this game already. We've got nothing really to lose," Antonio told the Footballer's Football podcast.

"One thing with us is when people expect us to lose, other things happen.

"You could talk to Tottenham when they came to us top of the league in 2016 thinking they were gonna win the league. Who stopped them? It was me.

"Two years ago we went to Sevilla away, lost 1-0, came back and everyone thought it was over, they always win the Europa League and stuff like that. What happened? It was us, knocked them out, home game, atmosphere was unbelievable.

"Last year everyone thought Fiorentina had the better team, West Ham is just alright, thinking we've done well just to get to the final. Nope, we're holding the trophy.

"We're gonna take it easy, go there, believe and go out there and do what we can.

"As long as we perform well it doesn't matter if we win or we lose. We just have to go out there and do enough for the fans to be happy."

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

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West Ham striker Michail Antonio says VAR is "a shambles" in light of controversy in their win over Wolves.

Wolves thought they had found a late equaliser in the fixture, when Max Kilman's goal was ruled out when a player was judged to be offside in front of West Ham goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski.

"It's a shambles. VAR is an actual shambles. Even though it's gone for me, we nicked a win because it's a shambles," Antonio told The Footballer's Football Podcast.

"Honestly, that's not offside mate. In any shape or form.

"VAR, I'd prefer if we just went back to normal. It has not helped football. Because they have spent so much money on it, they are scrambling, trying their hardest to keep it.

"Sometimes in life you meet people and they just don't fit in your life and you have to let them go. You have to let it go mate."

Asked if using ex-players in the VAR decision process, Antonio said: "It doesn't matter who is in there. At the end of the day it's a matter of opinion. Why VAR doesn't work in football is there are so many grey areas. So it will always be a matter of opinions. It doesn't make any sense. We've lost a bit of passion from the game. It hasn't helped. So, it's time to call it a day."

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Uefa has been criticised by a fans' group for the "paltry" ticket allocation of 12,000 per team for the Europa League final in Dublin.

The match will take place on 22 May at the Aviva Stadium in the Irish capital, where the capacity is 48,000.

European football's governing body confirmed on Tuesday that each of the finalists will receive 12,000 tickets, with a further 12,000 offered for sale directly to fans worldwide via Uefa's ticketing portal.

The game could be an all-English tie with Liverpool and West Ham United - who play their quarter-final first legs on Thursday - on opposite sides of the draw.

A Football Supporters Europe statement said: "Football Supporters Europe (FSE) shares its serious concern that the finalists' allocations at the 2024 Europa League Final in Dublin will reach just 50% of the stadium's total capacity on the day.

"Further, FSE calls on Uefa and the local organisers to do right by the supporters and increase these allocations.

"A paltry 50% of capacity for Europa League finalist clubs is, simply, not good enough and falls well short of FSE's demand to provide at least 66% of tickets for all European finals to supporters of the teams involved.

"Based on previous experiences, a higher allocation of tickets for general sale will significantly fuel black market ticket activity, exploiting fans' loyalty in the process."

The tickets allocated to the fans of the finalists will be the cheapest on offer at 40 euros (just over £34) each, with general sale tickets starting at 65 euros (£55.70) each.

In response to the FSE's statement, Uefa said: "After extensive discussions with the local authorities regarding logistical operations, as well as the designated access routes to the ends of the stadium occupied by supporters of each of the finalists, it has been decided that the two clubs that reach the final can receive a maximum of 12,000 tickets each."

It feels nice to be writing after a VAR decision went West Ham's way for once.

I have been very vocal on how VAR and its obvious issues has cost West Ham greatly in recent weeks. But after the 2-1 victory over Wolves on Saturday, it is nice to feel relieved instead of aggrieved.

The incident at the end of the match, when Max Kilman's equaliser was ruled out for offside, is another example of the grey areas littered throughout the laws of the game.

Was Tawanda Chirewa standing in an offside position? Yes. Was he interfering with play? Debatable.

Some argue he was because he is standing directly in front of Lukasz Fabianski, which means the goalkeeper's view is blocked. Some argue that while that is true, Fabianski had no chance of saving Kilman's header regardless, so Chirewa's position is irrelevant.

I understand both views and part of me sympathises with the Wolves fans, who have also had their fair share of VAR problems this term. The other part of me just does not care.

We have been disgracefully wronged by incorrect VAR calls in the past month or two, so it is a bit like we have collected some debt owed to us by officials. It is not the full balance, but it is something for now.

It means we take a very positive result into our biggest game of the season on Thursday - Bayer Leverkusen away.

Xabi Alonso's side are unbeaten this season - 41 games! - so it is not going to be easy, but if we can take any kind of positive result back to Stratford for the second leg, I think we have got a chance of making another Europa League semi-final.

It has come under intense scrutiny this season, but if there was ever a time for peak Moyes-ball it is now!

James Jones can be found at We Are West Ham, external

West Ham have joined Liverpool, Tottenham and AC Milan in the race to sign Fulham's 26-year-old centre-back Tosin Adarabioyo, who is out of contract in the summer. (Guardian), external

Manchester City have agreed terms with West Ham midfielder Lucas Paqueta before a summer move. The Brazil international, 26, was heavily linked with a move to Etihad Stadium last year. (Foot Mercato - in French), external

Everton can expect offers for Belgium midfielder Amadou Onana with former Everton chief executive Keith Wyness saying the club could get up to £70m for the 22-year-old amid interest from Arsenal, Newcastle United and West Ham. (Football Insider), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

We asked for your thoughts on Saturday's Premier League game between Wolves and West Ham United.

Here are some of your responses:

Wolves fans

Micky: Wolves were so poor in the second half that they didn’t really deserve anything from the game. After an impressive first half, we sat back and let West Ham dominate the second period. Although the disallowed goal was controversial, it would have been harsh on West Ham, who also had a goal controversially disallowed. It was a fair result.

Tony: Sorry, the excuses that we are not at full strength don't wash. They had ample chances after going 1-0 up. They are highly skilled professionals and should be able to score from close range all day, but apparently not. Still, on to the next game. Wishing for better times.

Martin: We are going to finish way ahead of expectations, given the available resources. Yes, we could have made European football if we had two or three more senior players, but we don't. I would have taken this at the start of the season. By the way, that was an absurd offside decision.

Darron: What I would like to see at the end of the season, after all of the points deductions for FFP, are points added for teams who have had 'apologies' and 'wrong VAR decisions' against them. An utter disgrace, yet again, which will probably end Wolves' European hopes. Hopefully next season they will get things right and treat all of the teams the same.

West Ham fans

Adrian: We were dreadful in the first half and I thought Wolves deserved a comfortable half-time lead. We were much better in the second half and Wolves will wonder how they managed to lose that game. VAR is killing the game. We were poor but we won. Wolves will feel robbed.

Liam: I can’t understand why we never get out of first gear until we are a goal down. I will forever wonder what would happen if an attacking-minded manager got hold of this squad. Poor officiating was unfortunately the talking point again. The first penalty was never a penalty and the last goal shouldn't have been disallowed. I hope Bowen makes a quick recovery.

KB: I can't understand Moyes' decision to play Paqueta, Bowen and Kudus out of their favoured positions in the first half, when we were not under any pressure to. Surely that is tactical incompetence. He has made too many of these poor decisions - it is inexcusable. He should know his players better by this stage of the season. It was a better second half when it was rectified.

Ray: It wasn't the best performance, but a result is a result. Unfortunately, our game management at the end hasn't been great but thankfully VAR stepped in and a decision has gone our way. Three points and now the focus is on Thursday.

Gary Lineker introduces highlights and analysis from Saturday's seven Premier League fixtures.

If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up on the action on BBC iPlayer.

Listen back to Saturday's BBC Radio 5 Live and 5 Sports Extra match commentary in full:

Everton v Burnley

Brighton v Arsenal

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There are some anxious hours ahead of David Moyes when it comes to Jarrod Bowen.

The West Ham manager's wait to find out if Bowen has any chance of facing Bayer Leverkusen on Thursday, or, indeed, in the second-leg the following week, will feel like a lifetime.

The Hammers' chances of advancing past Xabi Alonso's men do not hinge entirely on the England man. But, if anyone is likely to breach the Germans' defences, it is the man who famously scored West Ham's Europa Conference League final winner.

Without Bowen, Michail Antonio would start up front and, probably, Lucas Paqueta would be wide left.

It is not terrible - West Ham did well at Wolves in the second-half.

But, at Molineux, they needed a penalty and a goal direct from a corner.

Bowen is the man most likely to find the net - as he has done 19 times this season.

Moyes could really do with him, as his side get ready for their stiffest test in three seasons of European combat.

West Ham midfielder James Ward-Prowse has been speaking to BBC Match of the Day after scoring the match-winner against Wolves with a corner kick: "Before the game, we spoke about hitting the target with corners. It is a difficult one for the goalkeeper to defend because there are lots of bodies in his way and, if nobody touches it, hopefully it goes in. That was the case today, so I will take it.

"It is something I don't think keepers like to face when it is in-swinging. It was a bit of a windy day, a few storms knocking about, so I used it to my advantage and thankfully it paid off. I will give Storm Kathleen an assist for sure!

"I have never scored direct from a corner before, but my mum and dad always said to me as a kid to do it, so I'll give credit to them!

"The first half was probably one of our worst performances of the season. We didn't move the ball quick enough, we didn't get enough pressure on the ball, we sat off and gave them too much respect in a way.

"But I think in the second half we showed why we are where we are and where we want to go. It was a proper West Ham performance and one we can be proud of."

West Ham boss David Moyes has been speaking to BBC Match of the Day following the game: "Wolves played well in the first half and we came out and played well in the second half. I have to say the substitutions - they don't always work, but they did today. The boys who came on did a great job.

"I am still not convinced it [Wolves' goal] was a penalty-kick but the referee gave it. Although we played poorly in the first half, the biggest positive we took from it was we were only one goal down and that was from a dubious penalty.

"We made a couple of changes to see if we could bring something else to the party, because we had shown nothing in the first half. All the basic things were missing, our play in the first half was so bad, but the second half was completely different."

On James Ward-Prowse scoring direct from a corner: "James has a great delivery, as we know, and I still think we should be scoring more from them. But, if he puts them straight in from there, I'm happy!

"The conditions were a bit blustery but I don't want to take anything away from James' technical ability to score from there."

On the late VAR drama that denied Wolves an equaliser: "I think nearly every decision today was a VAR call. We were all unhappy. We are all pretty disappointed generally with a lot of the things going on.

"We have certainly had a terrible run of decisions - that last one might be one that has gone in our favour but, when I've seen it back, he is definitely standing in front of the goalkeeper.

"I think it was probably the right decision, but I can understand how Gary O'Neil would see it as a very harsh call - but I thought the penalty kick in the first half was a really harsh call for us."

Here are the key facts and figures following Saturday’s game between Wolves and West Ham United in the Premier League.

• West Ham United have now won six of their last eight Premier League matches against Wolves (L2), with this victory being just their third at Molineux in the competition (D1 L4).

• Wolves have lost a Premier League match after leading at half-time for the first time since September 2023 (3-1 v Liverpool), having won seven such matches in a row before this game.

• West Ham United have won a Premier League match in which they trailed at the break for the second time this season (also 2-1 v Tottenham Hotspur in December), having previously not done so in the league since December 2021 (3-2 v Chelsea).

• James Ward-Prowse has now registered 100 direct goal involvements in the Premier League (55 goals, 45 assists). This was his 13th goal involvement of the season (6 goals, 7 assists), bringing him level with his tally from 2022-23 (9 goals, 4 assists).

• Only Southampton, between November 1997 and April 2014 (29 penalty goals), have had a longer run of successfully taken penalties in Premier League history than Wolves' ongoing run of 23.

James Ward-Prowse scored direct from a corner to give West Ham a precious win at Wolves - but the victory was marred by a major injury scare around Jarrod Bowen.

Ward-Prowse's 84th-minute effort swerved over Wolves keeper Jose Sa and dipped in at the far post to complete a second-half comeback, after Lucas Paqueta cancelled out Pabio Sarabia's penalty with his own coolly-taken spot-kick.

The game ended in controversy though as Wolves were denied what they thought was an equaliser in the ninth minute of stoppage time for an offside against young substitute Tawanda Chirewa, who was deemed to have impeded goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski, even though he was getting nowhere near Maximilian Kilman's header.

However, David Moyes' joy at victory will be tempered significantly by the loss of Bowen.

The England forward appeared to hurt his elbow as he fell awkwardly five minutes into the second period and, although he tried to continue, it quickly became apparent he had to go off.

Bowen made his way straight to the dressing room but was moving very slowly as he went. With 19 goals, Bowen is by far West Ham's biggest attacking threat and would have been a key man in his club's Europa League quarter-final first-leg tie in Germany on Thursday against a Bayer Leverkusen side yet to lose a game under Xabi Alonso this season.

Only their third Premier League triumph of 2024, the victory keeps alive West Ham's hopes of securing European qualification for an unprecedented fourth consecutive season.

For Wolves, a fourth game without a win in all competitions matches their longest run of the season, as injuries continue to hamper Gary O'Neil's hopes of a top-half finish.

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