BEER WE GO!
Hammers hope Leverkusen still hammered after wild title celebrations... and are there for taking
DAVID MOYES hopes Bayer Leverkusen’s players are still drunk on their wild Bundesliga title celebrations when they face West Ham tonight in their Europa League quarter-final second leg.
Leverkusen won the German crown for the first time in their history on Sunday and toasted it by drenching manager Xabi Alonso in beer at a press conference before continuing the party in an alcohol-soaked dressing room.
And the Hammers hope the hangovers carry into their game at the London Stadium, where they must overturn a two-goal deficit against a team that have not lost in 43 games.
‘Rightly so, why would you not celebrate?’ said West Ham boss Moyes. ‘To be the champions you should celebrate and enjoy it because the moments go very quickly. I hope they’ve been downing those big
giant glasses of beer they get in Germany!’
Alonso, however, warned West Ham not to get their hopes up.
‘A few but not too many!’ said the Spaniard. ‘ We had some control in order to get ready for the game. It was a moment to enjoy, but now it is about what is coming and that is West Ham.
‘When you come to England you know the supporters will push the team on. It will be an electrifying atmosphere, so it will have all the ingredients for a special night.’
Moyes is missing the suspended Emerson and Lucas Paqueta and top scorer Jarrod Bowen faces a late fitness test. He missed last week’s quarter-final first leg and the defeat by Fulham on Sunday with a back injury but trained yesterday alongside Kalvin Phillips and goalkeeper Alphonse Areola.
‘It was great to see Jarrod out there,’ said Moyes. ‘It’s the first time we’ve had him out. I’m not sure yet (if he’ll be involved).
‘We had Kalvin and Alphonse out there as well. They will all be late calls.
‘I would never risk any player if I thought they had a chance of injury or it wasn’t right. But you always want your best players back in. If Jarrod came back it would give us a real lift and give the crowd a lift. We have to find a way of making some magic happen.’
Regardless, Moyes insisted the result would have no impact on his future at the club.
The Scot is out of contract in the summer and has said there is an extension on the table, despite continual debate over whether he is the right man to take West Ham forward.
‘It has not got a bearing on my decision,’ said Moyes. ‘It wasn’t too long ago we were talking about trying to avoid relegation.
‘We’ve had lots of ups, some downs as well, but in the main it has been really positive.’