David Moyes blasts 'disgraceful' Bayer Leverkusen after West Ham defeat in Europa League

David Moyes was unhappy with Bayer Leverkuen’s conduct during West Ham’s defeat (Getty)

David Moyes branded Bayer Leverkusen a ‘disgrace’ after West Ham’s 2-0 defeat in the Europa League on Thursday evening.

Xabi Alonso’s side continued their impressive run of form as late goals from Jonas Hofmann and Victor Boniface sealed the win for the Bundesliga leaders in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final tie.

West Ham now face a mountain to climb in the return fixture next week and their task has been made even more difficult as they will be without Lucas Paqueta, who will now serve a one-game suspension after receiving a yellow card on Thursday.

Moyes, however, was furious with Leverkusen’s behaviour on the touchline and claims their conduct influenced referee Artur Dias.

‘He will be a huge miss but I thought their bench was a disgrace,’ said Moyes.

‘He got surrounded. I thought it was disgraceful and was really disappointing.

Lucas Paqueta will miss the return leg against Bayer Leverkusen due to suspension (AFP via Getty)

‘You should let the referee make the decision and not the way they reacted to the incident.

‘I thought it was a rule all the way through. We would not all run off and surround him. It was a poor thing for them to do and they are a good side and they didn’t need to react like that.’

Bayer Leverkusen scored two late goals to beat West Ham (AFP via Getty)

Despite the defeat in Germany, Moyes is adamant that his side remain in with a chance of reaching the Europa League semi final with a win at the London Stadium next week.

‘We did a really good job defensively,’ Moyes said.

‘We were aware of them scoring late goals in other games and they put us under intense pressure and we found it difficult.

‘We were playing a Champions League team and a good one at that.

‘We will have to come up trumps next week and the first thing we have to do is get one goal and take it from there.

‘We know we are playing a good team but we are not out of the tie. If we can get that first goal it will make a difference.’

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