The one-man wall of Lukasz Fabianski repeatedly kept Bayer Leverkusen at bay at the BayArena on April 11, but the former Arsenal man – who made a staggering nine saves on the evening – could only hold out for so long before the Werkself pressure told.
None of Leverkusen’s starters managed to breach the Hammers’ backline, but substitutes Jonas Hofmann and Victor Boniface both found the mark in the final 10 minutes to propel the Bundesliga winners to a success that their astonishing 33-shot tally thoroughly deserved.
West Ham had never faced so many attempts on goal during the Moyes era – the last time the Irons conceded more chances was in January 2014, being subjected to 39 attempts versus Chelsea – but they memorably responded to a last-16 first-leg loss to Freiburg with a 5-0 home beatdown.
The London Stadium faithful are unlikely to be holding out hope of another second-leg turnaround if Sunday’s showing against Fulham is anything to go by, though, as an Andreas Pereira brace condemned Moyes’s men to another 2-0 defeat, where Fabianski was again the sole reason that the Cottagers did not chalk up more.
Boasting just one success from their last six matches in all competitions during an indifferent run of form, the Hammers also have just two wins to show from 10 home contests in 2024, and they have been knocked out of their last two European ties when losing the first leg by at least two goals.
