West Ham struggled to keep up with the quality of Bayer Leverkusen (Picture: Getty Images)
Joe Cole feels it is going to be very difficult for West Ham to bounce back in the Premier League at the weekend after a draining and heartbreaking defeat to Bayer Leverkusen on Thursday night.
The Hammers lost 2-0to the German side in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final in Leverkusen, with late goals from Jonas Hofmann and Victor Boniface breaking a stubborn resistance from the away side.
The Bundesliga leaders had 75 per cent possession and produced 33 shots to West Ham’s one, but it looked like David Moyes’ side might escape with a draw unil Hofmann scored in the 83rd minute.
Now things look pretty bleak for the Premier League side ahead of the return leg, not that the tie is over but after Leverkusen’s domination, Cole admits it is hard to see his former team coming back.
He also reckons it will be tough for them against Fulham on Sunday after the painful loss.
‘It’s hard to make a case for West Ham next Thursday,’ Cole said on TNT Sports. ‘They’ll be bitterly disappointed because even if they’d got a 0-0 in that game, the players would have left the pitch feeling like they’d played three games.
‘When you’re banked in that much and the stress of getting your angles right and defending for 90-plus minutes, it’s so draining.
David Moyes described Leverkusen as a ‘Champions League team’ (Picture: Getty Images)
‘But to lose two late goals, that’s going to be a real killer blow for that squad, they’ve got to show some character on the weekend against Fulham.
‘Mentally to come back from that will be very difficult. It’s just heartbreaking when you’ve defended as well as West Ham have.’
West Ham goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski told 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.’
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