West Ham took a 4-0 thrashing from Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday afternoon, with the east London club going down by three goals in the opening 38 minutes of their final pre-season game.
The Irons’ capitulation in the first half epitomized a difficult couple of weeks at the club, with Mail Sport reporting that David Moyes was close to leaving, amid internal rows over the club’s recruitment.
They have yet to make another signing this season, and today Leverkusen showed the Irons the benefits of investing in an already good squad of players.
New signings, Jonas Hofmann and Victor Boniface, helped both score and set up a trio of spectacular first-half goals that left West Ham stunned.
Boniface, 22, was particularly a handful throughout the match, with the 6ft 2in striker notably having several chances to score, but he was also unselfish throughout the game, knocking off his teammates on several occasions while also winning a penalty to helping his side score their fourth goal in the second term.
David Moyes’ side were beaten 4–0 by Bayer Leverkusen in their final game of their pre-season campaign
Victor Boniface (right) shone during the game, with the striker involved in all four goals, while scoring once himself
Leverkusen looked very dangerous throughout the game, threatening both the right and left channels and ensuring that West Ham didn’t get many chances during the game.
Meanwhile, Hofmann stunned the London side within nine minutes of kick-off by hitting a beautifully taken free-kick from just outside the penalty area and bouncing his effort off the post into the net.
It was also an unnecessary free-kick to admit, with West Ham losing possession in the middle of the park, allowing Boniface to break free on the Hammers goal. Kurt Zouma would admit the foul, which saw him fall on the edge of the penalty area and receive a yellow card.
West Ham certainly got off to a slow start and set the tone for the game, with Xabi Alonso showing excellent rotational play down the wings through Jeremie Frimpong and Amine Adli.
Both players were impressive and added a lot of speed to their attacks, breaking through the visitors’ defenses and producing several menacing attacks throughout the game.
Jonas Hofmann (pictured), who also recently joined the German team, provided the opener with a beautifully taken free kick on the edge of the penalty area
Moyes made several changes at half-time, most notably bringing in striker Mikhail Antonio (left).
It wasn’t long before the home side doubled their lead, with Adli heeling the ball into Hofmann’s feet, who, instead of firing, cleverly played a pass over goal towards Boniface at the far post.
While it appeared the 22-year-old had scored his second goal, it was later confirmed that Thilo Kehrer had conceded an own goal, with Boniface doing enough to help put his side 2-0 up.
After the goal, the Europa Conference League winners found a bit of momentum, with Thomas Soucek hitting a header against the crossbar just on the half hour mark, their first and most dangerous effort of the opening changes.
But despite their best efforts, Leverkusen would score again soon after, with Boniface chasing a cute ball that was dinked over the Irons’ defense and smashing a booming shot over the face of goal into the side netting.
It was a mediocre start to the game and Leverkusen would come out of the blocks just as quickly in the second half.
Had it not been for substitute Alphonse Areola’s outstretched left arm, the Hammers could have gone down shortly after the break, with Boniface on the tee off for Adli, who thumped a powerful left-footed shot across the goal.
Change was definitely needed and Moyes stepped in after 45 minutes and changed his team’s form, also deploying Mikhail Antonio, Vladimir Coufal and Nayef Aguerd.
Although they had to endure more attacks from the German club, West Ham did show signs of improvement. Denying Leverkusen the space they got in the first half.
The Hammers also conceded a penalty in the later stages of the game to conced their fourth
Leverkusen, meanwhile, were fantastic all along and kept West Ham from putting in many meaningful attacks in the game
It was an excellent end to the pre-season for Xabi Alonso’s (pictured) side, who will now face Teutonia Ottensen in the German Cup before the Bundesliga kicks off in two weeks.
West Ham now take on Brighton in the opening round of Premier League fixtures, but it will be interesting to see how they prepare for next week’s game
It will be interesting to see what formation Moyes will play in next weekend in their opening Premier League game against Bournemouth, notably switching to three regular defenders at the back during the game.
Boniface could have had his second soon after, when he was one-on-one with Areola, and as he tried to fool the French goalkeeper by stepping over the ball, Kehrer raced back to make a fantastic last-ditch tackle perform to deny the striker. a goal attempt.
But Leverkusen’s fourth goal would eventually come, with the Nigerian striker breaking away again before being brought down in the penalty area. Substitute Robert Andrich would extend the lead from the spot.
The Irons would press and move up the field against the home side in the later stages of the game, but again could not find their way into the Leverkusen penalty area.
Ultimately, Alonso’s squad was very well organized today, which is impressive given that the Spaniard has only been in charge of the team since October last year.
They look dangerous to beat this year, especially with Boniface at the top, but it’s tough for Moyes, who will have enough to lead into the new season.
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