Michail Antonio felt West Ham were up against 14 players as they bowed out of the Europa League to Bayer Leverkusen.

Antonio’s early header gave the Hammers hope of overturning a 2-0 first-leg deficit and inflicting a first defeat of the season on Xabi Alonso’s new Bundesliga champions.

But the bustling striker claimed he did not get a decision all night from card-happy Spanish referee Jose Maria Sanchez and his two assistants.

“It doesn’t feel like you’re playing against 11 men, it feels like you’re playing against 13 or 14 including the two linos,” Antonio told TNT Sports.

“You just have to keep pushing and try and make the decisions go your way. And they just weren’t. We had to keep playing our way and keep being professional.”

West Ham pushed gamely for a second goal to take the tie to extra-time, but as they inevitably flagged Leverkusen substitute Jeremie Frimpong scored with a deflected shot in the last minute to make it 1-1 on the night and 3-1 on aggregate.

It was a valiant effort but ultimately a sad end to another European adventure for last season’s Conference League winners.

“We’re very proud of ourselves, to achieve what we’ve achieved over the last few years is incredible,” added Antonio.

“Three back-to-back years in European quarter-finals I would never have thought that. We were a yo-yo team, fighting relegation, then into Europe.”

Sanchez booked 11 players and sent off West Ham coach Billy McKinlay, and Sebastian Parrilla from Leverkusen’s staff after a touchline altercation.

Asked if that skirmish had anything to do with some bad-tempered exchanges between the benches in last week’s first leg, Alonso said with a grin: “I wouldn’t say no.”

Hammers boss David Moyes was not keen to be drawn on the officiating, but he did say: “I watch a lot of Spanish football but if that’s the way it is you wouldn’t want to watch too many Spanish matches.”

On his side’s performance, he added: “It was a brilliant team performance, I have to say over the two games.

“We played a really good team and we had chances to be two or three up. I couldn’t fault the players at all. If I was going out of Europe I wanted to go out like that.”

In the first half Leverkusen looked as though they may have celebrated their first Bundesliga crown on Sunday a little too much, and Alonso admitted they needed to improve after the break.

“For sure it was a thrilling game,” he said. “Two different halves. First half we knew West Ham would come with high intensity and we were not comfortable with that.

“After they scored one we were lucky not to concede a second one. But we showed character in the second half and the substitutes had a good impact. It was a lesson for us.”

West Ham bowed out of the Europa League but only after giving new German champions Bayer Leverkusen an almighty fright.

Michail Antonio’s early goal had the Hammers, 2-0 down from the first leg, dreaming of inflicting a first defeat of the season on Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen and of maybe reaching a third European semi-final in three years.

But they were unable to find a second and were then left crastfallen when a deflected goal from Jeremie Frimpong a minute from time made it 1-1 on the night and 3-1 on aggregate to end the Hammers’ hopes.

Few gave David Moyes’ side any chance of overturning the deficit against one of the best teams in Europe, even if they were a little jaded after celebrating their first Bundesliga crown on Sunday.

At the very least West Ham knew they needed a fast start, and both the team and the crowd were instantly unrecognisable from the meek 2-0 home defeat by Fulham four days earlier.

The first shot in anger did come from Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz, whose 20-yard effort was acrobatically saved by Hammers keeper Lukasz Fabianksi despite it being his 39th birthday.

But the first goal was always going to have to come from West Ham if they were going to make anything resembling a contest out of it, and it arrived in the 14th minute when Jarrod Bowen swung a cross into the box.

Antonio got above Leverkusen centre-half Odilon Kossounou and in front of keeper Matej Kovar to guide his header into the net as a raucous home crowd genuinely started to believe something special could be in the air.

It was almost two four minutes later when Mohammed Kudus shook off the attentions of Kossounou and hit a deflected shot which Kovar did well to smother.

It was enough to rattle Alonso, who removed Kossounou from the firing line with less than half an hour gone, the Ivory Coast defender heading straight down the tunnel.

Tempers flared between the benches moments later with the Hammers’ mild-mannered first-team coach Billy McKinlay sent off along with Sebastian Parrilla from Leverkusen’s bench.

Still West Ham attacked and Edson Avarez’s shot looked goalbound until it hit Antonio’s backside, with Kovar holding Bowen’s follow-up.

Alonso made two further changes at the break, with big guns Victor Boniface and Frimpong called into action.

After the break Bowen, still a lively presence despite only passing a late fitness test, robbed Piero Hincapie in the area only to pull his shot across goal.

But Leverkusen were finding their rhythm. Frimpong should have wrapped up the tie with 10 minutes left when he raced through one-on-one with Fabianski, only to lift his shot way over the crossbar.

But with two minutes left Frimpong did strike, his shot taking a huge deflection off Aaron Cresswell to end West Ham’s European adventure.

Bayer Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso had bad news for David Moyes after insisting there are no lingering hangovers from their historic Bundesliga title celebrations.

Leverkusen clinched the first title in the club’s history when they beat Werder Bremen 5-0 on Sunday.

But their attention is now focused on defending a 2-0 lead in the second leg of their Europa League quarter-final at West Ham.

Hammers boss Moyes admitted he hoped the Leverkusen players might have indulged in a few too many steins of German beer.

But Alonso revealed: “A few of them, probably. But not too many. We had control.

“For sure it was a moment to enjoy it. On Sunday we knew we had a chance so we took one day, in case of winning, to enjoy it.

“But from Tuesday our mind has been focused on West Ham. Now it’s the Europa League and we have a great chance to make a great season even better.

“The commitment, the way we’ve trained, give me reasons to believe we will play well tomorrow.

“We have big challenges ahead. West Ham have good players, they have recent experience of beating Freiburg. We need to put in our best performance.

“I don’t have any feeling that our mentality will be any different from the one that has given us this chance to reach the quarter-final.”

Former Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka managed to achieve what Harry Kane could not do by winning the title in his first season in Germany.

Kane’s switch from Tottenham to Bayern Munich was expected to end in Bundesliga glory but his new side have been left trailing in Leverkusen’s wake.

“Before you transfer to another country you speak with the club and the coach about the plan and the philosophy,” said Xhaka.

“But of course how we are playing is unbelievable, more than people were thinking before the season. I’m proud to be a part of this team.”

Jarrod Bowen looks set to be fit for West Ham’s bid for an unlikely Europa League comeback against new Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen.

The Hammers’ 19-goal top scorer missed the 2-0 quarter-final first-leg defeat in Germany, and Sunday’s Premier League loss at home to Fulham, with a hip injury.

But Bowen took part in training at West Ham’s Rush Green HQ on Wednesday morning and hopes are high that he will be available against Leverkusen.

Manager David Moyes said: “It was great to see Jarrod out there.

“We’re not sure yet. I would never risk a player if I thought they were injured but you always want your best players back in, your goalscorers as well, and Jarrod has been that this season.”

The news is a major boost to the Hammers as they attempt to inflict a first defeat of the season on Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen.

But they will be without key Brazilian midfielder Lucas Paqueta through suspension after he was booked in Germany.

“Most people know exactly what Jarrod has done for us over the season and others. It would give us and the crowd a real lift,” Moyes said.

“We’ve lost Lucas through suspension, and had Jarrod out through injury. We have to find ways of making magic happen.”

Left-back Emerson Palmieiri is also suspended while centre-half Konstantinos Mavropanos is a doubt.

Leverkusen secured a first league title in their history when they beat Werder Bremen 5-0 on Sunday, and Moyes hopes the celebrations went on long into the night – and maybe spilled into the start of the week.

“Rightly so, why would you not celebrate?” he said. “To be the champions, you should celebrate, you should enjoy it because the moments go very quickly.

“I hope they’ve been downing those big giant glasses of beer they get in Germany!”

Goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski, who turns 39 on Thursday, hopes West Ham can lean on their experience of making unlikely comebacks.

Fabianski was in the Hammers team who were 3-0 down at Tottenham with 10 minutes to go in 2020, and hit back to draw 3-3.

“I think the confidence that we can take is from the experiences in recent years, games where we have been down and come back,” the former Poland international said.

“The Spurs game is one of the best examples,  being 3-0 down and to score three in 10-15 minutes.

“We’ve experienced some great moments as a team in recent history and that will help us prepare mentally for (Thursday’s) game.”

David Moyes insists West Ham still have “half a chance” to reach the Europa League semi-finals despite an agonising 2-0 first-leg defeat at Bayer Leverkusen.

The Hammers defended heroically for 83 minutes of a one-sided encounter against the Bundesliga leaders in Germany.

But late goals from substitutes Jonas Hoffman and Victor Boniface left West Ham with it all to do in next week’s second leg against a team yet to lose a match this season.

Moyes told TNT Sports: “Leverkusen have a good record of scoring late. We were aware of that. We did a great job but we played against a Champions League side and we’re not quite at that level.

“We’re still in the tie and we have half a chance in the second leg.

“We’d like to have played more attacking. The players did a brilliant job with the structure. We got done by two corner kicks. The second one was really poor from our point of view.

“It’s going to take some performance because they’re a really good team. You never know what’s going to happen. Let’s try to get one and then see if we can get two. We’ll pick ourselves up for next week and hopefully get the crowd behind us.

“This team we’re playing will be Champions League next year. We have to recognise what we’re playing against. We’ll have to do exceptionally well to get that result.”

Goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianksi made a string of excellent saves to keep the hosts at bay.

The former Poland international, who turns 39 next Thursday, added: “We are 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.

“I wouldn’t say we ran out of energy. Both teams did their best. In the end the second set-piece felt too easy. It felt like the striker had too much space.

“We have a really good record at home. They’re special magical nights and hopefully the second leg will be the same.”

To make matters worse, West Ham will be without Lucas Paqueta through suspension for the return leg.

Leverkusen’s former Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka said: “We knew before the game West Ham would be deep, but we showed one more time we have the quality to beat these teams.

“The second goal helps a lot for the second leg and we’ll have to be focused from the beginning.”

West Ham were breached by two late goals as they slipped to a 2-0 defeat in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final at Bayer Leverkusen.

The Hammers had defended heroically for 83 minutes before goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski was finally beaten by substitute Jonas Hoffman.

A one-goal deficit might have given David Moyes’ side hope going into next week’s second leg at the London Stadium, despite facing a side unbeaten all season.

But disaster struck in stoppage time when a second substitute, Victor Boniface, headed home Hofmann’s cross, to leave West Ham’s hopes of a third consecutive European semi-final looking horribly slim.

A yellow card for Lucas Paqueta, ruling the Brazil international out of the second leg, only adds to the task facing the east Londoners.

The Hammers, without injured top scorer Jarrod Bowen and defensive midfield linchpin Edson Alvarez through suspension, were almost undone in the seventh minute when Josip Stanisic’s wayward shot was flicked towards goal by Patrik Schick but the ball went straight to Fabianski.

But Leverkusen were given a warning of West Ham’s prowess on the counter-attack moments later when Michail Antonio outstripped Jonathan Tah on the left wing and produced the best chance of the first half.

The burly frontman squared the ball to Mohammed Kudus, but the Ghana winger’s first-time strike was comfortably held by Matej Kovar.

However, West Ham were largely camped in their own penalty area and Fabianski palmed away Jeremie Frimpong’s curler before Exequiel Palacios’s drive was deflected over.

Paqueta’s over-enthusiastic challenge on Amine Adli earned him his booking – the Brazilian survived a red card check – and provoked a mild skirmish on the touchline.

Fabianski might have suspected he was in for a busy evening and he was proved right, making big saves to keep out dangerous efforts from Alejandro Grimaldo, Shick and Edmond Tapsoba.

Early in the second half Emerson Palmieri was shown a yellow card after catching Adli on the ankle, meaning the left-back will also sit out next week’s return leg.

Frimpong, a former Manchester City youngster, hit a low angled drive straight at Fabianski, before the 38-year-old Pole made a stunning save to tip Shick’s instinctive header over the crossbar.

But with seven minutes remaining Fabianski was powerless to prevent Hoffman’s shot bouncing through a sea of white shirts and into the net after a corner was only half-cleared.

Tomas Soucek cleared two Tah efforts off the line in a desperate finale before Boniface headed the second to leave the Hammers devastated.

Tottenham lost more ground in the battle for a top-four finish after they were held to a 1-1 draw at West Ham.

Ange Postecoglou’s side could have leapfrogged fourth-placed Aston Villa with a win and made the perfect start when Brennan Johnson tapped home early on for his fifth goal of the season.

West Ham, who let a 3-1 lead slip to lose 4-3 at Newcastle last weekend, were able to respond in the 19th minute when Kurt Zouma scored from Jarrod Bowen’s corner and they could have claimed all three points.

While Spurs dominated possession throughout in east London, David Moyes watched Michail Antonio race through on the hour mark but fire straight at Guglielmo Vicario as the capital rivals could not be separated.

A light show followed by a firework display greeted the players onto a soaked London Stadium pitch and Moyes should have seen his team start with a bang.

Only four minutes were on the clock when Mohammed Kudus crossed in for Bowen, but the Hammers’ leading marksman fluffed his lines from a matter of yards.

It would prove costly as Spurs went ahead with their first attack of the match. A neat move ended with Timo Werner bursting past Vladimir Coufal before he squared for the recalled Johnson to tap home in the fifth minute.

It continued Johnson’s purple patch, after his brace of assists against Luton, but also ended a run of six first halves without a goal for Tottenham.

The visitors went close again when a Pedro Porro effort whistled past the post before Son Heung-min curled straight at Lukasz Fabianski, in for the injured Alphonse Areola.

West Ham remained a threat at set-pieces though, after Kudus had an early shot deflected over, and levelled after 19 minutes.

Bowen’s inswinging corner was diverted beyond Vicario by the back of home captain Zouma, who was inexplicably unmarked in the six-yard area.

It got the West Ham fans up on their feet and they almost had another goal to celebrate eight minutes before half-time, but James Ward-Prowse’s 25-yard free-kick was parried away by Vicario.

Spurs had responded well to the hosts’ equaliser. However, they had to survive a set-piece barrage to ensure they came in level at the break.

A sloppy pass by Rodrigo Bentancur gifted West Ham a chance at the start of the second half, but Vicario saved Antonio’s shot before the Italian made an even better stop to keep out Konstantinos Mavropanos’ header.

Antonio’s blushes were spared after he air-kicked the loose ball when the offside flag was raised.

Lucas Paqueta was next to go close for the home side when he spun away from Bentancur and curled wide from 20 yards.

Tottenham did regroup but should have gone 2-1 down on the hour mark.

Maddison wanted a free-kick after he tangled with Paqueta. Referee John Brooks waved play on and Ward-Prowse played through to Antonio, who benefited from a slip by Micky van de Ven but fired straight at Vicario.

It was a gilt-edged chance and Postecoglou reacted by bringing on Pape Sarr and Dejan Kulusevski, which gave the visitors a second wind.

Werner had an effort deflected over before both teams threatened to produce stoppage-time breakaway goals, but Destiny Udogie fired straight at Fabianski and Bowen lobbed off target as the points were shared.

David Moyes took the handbrake off West Ham and watched them race into the last eight of the Europa League with a 5-0 win over Freiburg.

Hammers boss Moyes uncharacteristically named an attacking line-up in a bid to repair the damage of the 1-0 first-leg defeat in Germany last week.

He was rewarded with a sparkling display as goals from Lucas Paqueta, Jarrod Bowen, Aaron Cresswell and two from Mohammed Kudus – including a sensational solo effort – secured a 5-1 aggregate win and a place in a European quarter-final for a third-successive season.

As a consequence the Hammers may have also done some of their Premier League rivals a favour, with the result pushing England ahead of Germany in UEFA’s coefficient rankings, which could mean an extra spot in Europe next season.

Despite some indifferent domestic form, West Ham – last season’s Europa Conference League winners – seem to come alive on these European nights.

Two years ago, at the same stage of the same competition, they memorably overturned a 1-0 first-leg deficit against Spanish Europa League specialists Sevilla.

There were fears that that crackling atmosphere might be difficult to recreate, with many fans unable to make the match due to the unusual 5.45pm kick-off time.

But the London Stadium was still almost full and it erupted after just nine minutes as Freiburg saw their advantage wiped out.

Cresswell swung in a third-successive corner, Tomas Soucek stooped to flick the ball on and the unmarked Paqueta slid it in at the far post.

Just after the half-hour mark, West Ham had their second as Bowen celebrated his latest call-up to the England squad in style, shrugging off the attentions of Freiburg captain Christian Gunter before lashing home from 20 yards.

Freiburg still posed a threat, though, with Roland Sallai firing across goal and wide just to let West Ham know the tie was still very much in the balance at half-time.

That lasted until six minutes into the second half, when Bowen’s square ball across the box was deflected out to Cresswell, lurking on the edge of the area.

The left-back, who was the fall guy in Frankfurt two years when his red card in the semi-final against Eintracht cost West Ham dearly, took a touch before leathering the ball inside the far post.

The best was still to come, despite there being little sign of danger when Kudus picked the ball up deep inside his own half.

The former Ajax wideman sprinted around 70 yards, slicing through the heart of the Freiburg defence before casually rolling the ball into the net.

No wonder Kudus felt the need to borrow a photographer’s stool and sit down in front of the delirious home fans as his team-mates celebrated around him.

The rest had clearly done Kudus good, as he promptly collected Bowen’s lay-off and dispatched a low drive from 20 yards to complete West Ham’s five-star display.

West Ham boss David Moyes felt his side were wrongly denied a late penalty as they slipped to a 1-0 defeat in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 meeting with Freiburg.

The Hammers were denied what looked a clear spot-kick for handball in stoppage time after the referee refused to change his decision despite checking the pitchside monitor.

The ball struck the arm of Freiburg youngster Noah Weisshaupt in a crowded penalty area, but after a long VAR check, referee Alejandro Hernandez stuck to his guns.

“If we’d had it given against us, we’d probably think it was harsh, but ultimately I have to say what are you doing with your hands above your head?” Moyes said.

“They are trying to claim there might have been a slight push and that’s why it wasn’t given – but they should have restarted the game with a free-kick if they said it was a push.

“It certainly wasn’t enough of a push to warrant a free-kick, so that shouldn’t mean that it should even come into consideration. The boy has two arms above his head.

“In the Premier League, I am not sure that would be given, but in UEFA competitions in Europe they’re normally given by the referees. I watch Spanish football and German football and nearly every handball is seen.

“If you think of the one we had against Kurt (Zouma) (at Everton) the other day, but we just have to take it and move on.”

West Ham only had themselves to blame for the defeat, however, after drawing a blank in the Black Forest.

Jarrod Bowen and Lucas Paqueta missed golden opportunities and Konstantinos Mavropanos hit a post before they were hit by a late sucker punch from Freiburg substitute Michael Gregoritsch.

A poor pass from Edson Alvarez allowed Roland Sallai to take aim from the edge of the area and his wayward shot was tapped in by Gregoritsch.

“I was really surprised we didn’t reach the standards and some of the players were below where we would expect them to be,” Moyes said, quoted on the West Ham website.

“We gave the ball away far too much and in Europe it’s more difficult (to get it back).

“In the second half we played much better and created some opportunities and found things, but the goal was a sickener, to be honest.”

It means West Ham, last season’s Europa Conference League winners, need to overturn a 1-0 deficit at the London Stadium next week to prolong this season’s continental campaign.

Moyes, though, insists all is not yet lost as West Ham look to regroup for the return leg.

“I’m not worried about turning the tie around, but I am worried about us getting back into right good form and at the levels they need to be to make the difference,” the Irons boss said.

“I’m looking forward to the game next week and bring it on and let’s see how we go.”

West Ham drew a blank in the Black Forest as they slipped to a 1-0 defeat in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 meeting with Freiburg.

Jarrod Bowen and Lucas Paqueta missed golden opportunities to give the Hammers a lead to take back to the London Stadium next week.

But instead they will have to come from behind after they were hit by a late sucker punch from Freiburg substitute Michael Gregoritsch.

They were also denied what looked a clear penalty for handball in stoppage time after the referee refused to change his decision despite checking the pitchside monitor.

Nine months to the day since they lifted the Europa Conference League trophy in Prague, West Ham were back on their continental travels, and against familiar opponents.

Freiburg were the visitors to east London for the final group game just 84 days ago when a 2-0 win secured top spot for the Hammers.

West Ham also won 2-1 on their previous visit to south-west Germany in October, and travelled buoyed by back-to-back Premier League wins following a below-par start to the year.

Boss David Moyes, keen on another strong run in Europe, named his strongest line-up with cup goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski replacing Alphonse Areola in the only change from Saturday’s victory at Everton.

West Ham were, as usual, happy to let their opponents have the ball but Freiburg gave them a scare when Roland Sallai’s through-ball split their defence.

Fortunately, Lucas Holer hit his shot into the ground and straight at Fabianski.

Moments later Bowen made a horrible mess of West Ham’s only chance of the first half.

The forward, who has not scored in Europe since his famous last-minute winner against Fiorentina in the Czech capital, peeled away at the far post to meet a Mohammed Kudus cross but badly fluffed his volley.

At the start of the second half Ghana winger Kudus cut inside Freiburg full-back only to curl his shot straight at keeper Noah Atubolu.

Bowen then scampered down the right wing and crossed for Paqueta, who also scuffed a volley wide.

A James Ward-Prowse corner should have been converted by Konstantinos Mavropanos but the centre-half’s header grazed the far post.

Paqueta then met another superb cross from Kudus but the finish, a simple header, again did not match the quality of the delivery, before Atubolu did well to tip Bowen’s curler wide.

Tomas Soucek also fired straight at Atubolu and Bowen just missed Aaron Cresswell’s cross before Freiburg struck.

A sloppy pass from Edson Alvarez gifted them possession and when Sallai took aim from the edge of the area, his wayward shot was tapped in by Gregoritsch.

Four minutes into stoppage time the ball struck the arm of Freiburg youngster Noah Weisshaupt in the area but after a long VAR check, referee Alejandro Hernandez checked the replay and stuck to his guns.

David Moyes hopes West Ham have turned a corner after finally beating bogey side Brentford 4-2.

On a night of firsts, Jarrod Bowen scored a first career hat-trick to ease the pressure on boss Moyes after a rotten run of eight matches without a win.

The Hammers won their first match of 2024, with Bowen scoring his first goals since before Christmas and becoming the first Hammers player to hit a treble at the London Stadium.

It means West Ham, for all the talk of their poor form and Moyes’ future, are back up to eighth and in the mix for Europe again.

“Most teams have difficult periods in the Premier League. Manchester City have, Liverpool have, so West Ham are certainly going to be no different,” said Moyes.

“We’ve struggled to get our best team out, but overall if we can get our better players out there we can compete with most teams.”

Bowen scored twice inside the opening seven minutes before Neal Maupay pulled one back for the Bees, who had beaten West Ham in all five of their previous Premier League meetings.

Bowen headed his third midway through the second half and Emerson Palmieri hit a 20-yard rocket before Yoanne Wissa pulled another back.

“I’m really pleased for Jarrod, his performances have gone unnoticed as we’ve not been playing well,” added Moyes.

“Tonight it happened for him, his all-round play, the way he was working, he was a threat all night and hopefully the goals will get him back in (England manager) Gareth (Southgate’s) thinking.

“If you can play wide and you’re a goalscorer you will be of interest to the international manager.”

Maupay, Brentford’s premier wind-up merchant, was seen having a heated discussion with Hammers coach Kevin Nolan as the teams came back out of the tunnel for the second half.

“I actually didn’t know who the row was with, I thought maybe it was with the fourth official. I didn’t see it so I can’t really tell you anything about that,” said Moyes.

Brentford, already plunged deeper into the relegation scrap earlier on Monday following Everton’s points deduction being reduced from 10 to six, suffered another defeat – their 12th in 15 matches since beating West Ham at home in November.

“Today we didn’t hit a good level individually and collectively. West Ham hit a good level, Bowen was unplayable, Emerson hit the top corner and we lost 4-2,” was boss Thomas Frank’s blunt assessment.

“I need to watch the game back because one of the things we’ve been good at is consistent performances. There are very few games where we don’t perform to a certain level and this was only the third this season we’ve been below our level.

Asked whether the Everton situation had an effect, Frank replied “Absolutely not.

“I think right now I’m very irritated with our performance, that’s the main focus.”

Jarrod Bowen scored a hat-trick as West Ham beat bogey side Brentford 4-2 to ease the pressure on David Moyes.

The Hammers won their first match of 2024, with Bowen scoring his first goals since before Christmas, to end a miserable run of eight games without a victory which had prompted more questions about the manager’s future.

Played five, lost five was their sorry Premier League record against Brentford, the only team of the 43 Moyes had faced in the top flight and not previously beaten.

Finally the rot was stopped as Brentford, already plunged deeper into the relegation scrap earlier on Monday following Everton’s points deduction being reduced from 10 to six, suffered another defeat – their 12th in 15 matches since beating West Ham at home in November.

Where this West Ham have been for the past two months is anyone’s guess. They should have led after only three minutes when James Ward-Prowse flicked on Vladimir Coufal’s cross, only for Tomas Soucek to blaze over from six yards out.

But moments later they did go ahead when Ward-Prowse sent Emerson Palmieri down the left wing.

The Italian defender pulled the ball back for Bowen, who took a touch before lashing his shot past Mark Flekken.

Bowen, who had not scored a Premier League goal in seven matches, suddenly had two inside the first seven minutes.

This time Coufal found the England hopeful 10 yards out and he calmly slotted past Flekken to double the lead.

But the Bees were stung into action and responded in the 13th minute through Neal Maupay, who stole in to score his fifth goal in as many starts against the Hammers.

West Ham looked for a third before half-time, but Soucek missed his kick in front of goal, fit-again Lucas Paqueta volleyed wide and a Mohammed Kudus drive was held by Flekken.

It had not been a particularly niggly half, but Maupay, Brentford’s premier wind-up merchant, seemed to say something which riled Hammers coach Kevin Nolan as they came back out of the tunnel, with Bees defender Mathias Jorgensen separating the pair.

Ivan Toney was inches away from an equaliser when he just failed to get a touch to an inviting cross from Keane Lewis-Potter.

Instead, in the 64th minute, Bowen completed his treble – the first by a West Ham player at the London Stadium – with a simple header from Kudus’ cross.

Home keeper Alphonse Areola saved a Frank Onyeka volley down low at his near post before the Hammers grabbed their fourth in style.

Another Kudus cross was headed out to Emerson, 20 yards out, and the full-back launched a rocket past Flekken into the top corner.

Bees substitute Yoane Wissa pulled another back late on and Areola denied Toney in stoppage time as West Ham held on for a win which was almost as impressive as it was unexpected.

David Moyes has revealed West Ham have offered him a new contract, but he has yet to decide whether to stay at the club.

The Hammers manager’s current deal ends this summer and there was some doubt he would be offered a new one given their struggles since the turn of the year.

However, it seems Moyes is in charge of his own destiny in east London, and he could even opt to follow Jurgen Klopp’s lead at Liverpool and walk away at the end of the season.

Moyes, who is more than four years into his second spell at West Ham, said: “There’s a contract there for me.

“I’m the one deciding I want to wait until the end of the season, to make sure everything is correct, to concentrate on this season.

“I’ve really enjoyed my four years. I’ll see my contract out.

“There are plenty of reasons. I’ve got to make sure it’s the right thing for the club, for me and my family. I’ve spoken to the board. I’ve had a fabulous four years. We’ll sort it out but I’m happy to wait.”

Moyes guided West Ham to their first trophy in 43 years in last season’s Europa Conference League final, but some supporters have turned on him again after a run of eight matches without a win.

They have lost their last three in the Premier League, conceding 11 goals and scoring none, and were dumped out of the FA Cup by Bristol City.

However, much like last season, Europe is Moyes’ saving grace and the Hammers have got a favourable draw against Freiburg in the last 16 of the Europa League.

West Ham have already beaten the Bundesliga side twice this season after meeting them in the group stages, although their fans were banned from the away fixture due to the trouble at the Conference League final.

“We’re looking forward to going back and playing them again,” said Moyes.

“They were the toughest team in the group. We have to go back again and see if we can win for a second time.

“I don’t think that makes it any easier. The group was tight, the games were close. There’s no big difference.

“There are some big teams in this competition, the leaders in Germany, the leaders in this country. You’re trying to avoid them as much as you can.

“But it’s a tough game. They’ve just beaten Lens, who were in Arsenal’s Champions League group, giving you an idea they are a good team.

“The good thing about it is we knew we’d have European football after Christmas for the third year in a row, we’re really pleased.

“Once you get this far you want to see if we can get to the next round. We’ve had a few brilliant years in Europe.”

Under-pressure West Ham boss David Moyes said he “wins more” than more exciting managers who could replace him as he defended his position.

Angry fans displayed a banner asking for him to be sacked after they lost 2-0 at Nottingham Forest to stretch their winless run to eight games in all competitions.

Six days after a home humiliation to Arsenal, they went down to goals from Taiwo Awoniyi and Callum Hudson-Odoi as Forest gave their survival chances a shot in the arm.

Moyes guided the Hammers to the Europa Conference League title last season, the semi-finals of the Europa League the year before and regularly challenged the top six in the last three years, but supporters have little patience.

The Scot was staunch in his defence and reminded fans of what he has done at the London Stadium.

“I am pretty long in the tooth, you can never please everybody, it would be hard to say there have been many better times at West Ham,” he said.

“Maybe they want something different, but they would honestly have to say it has been the best times they have had at the club with regards winning a European trophy, the league positions.

“Maybe there would be managers who excite them more, possibly, but the one who is sitting here wins more.

“My response would be to say we are hurting really badly as a team and a manager because we have not had good results for five or six weeks now.

“But this year already we have beaten Tottenham, Man Utd, Chelsea, Arsenal, we must not forget there were good times not so long ago.

“We have not been playing well, but there are some mitigating circumstances since January 1, with boys going to the African Cup of Nations, Jarrod Bowen came back from England with an injury and has not been the same since, we have been without Lucas Paqueta as well for most of the time so there are things that have affected us.

“I have seen other teams have similar, Newcastle, Man Utd, Man City before the World Championship, Arsenal over Christmas.

“There is no divine right that West Ham don’t have a dicky period at some point in the season. We are hoping we can get back on it.”

Forest won for the first time in the Premier League in 2024 to give themselves some breathing space at the foot of the table.

They were worthy of their first victory in five with Awoniyi and Hudson-Odoi scoring at the end of either half.

Boss Nuno Espirito Santo said: “We played a good game. We were disciplined and aggressive. The boys worked really hard.

“And when we had the ball, we had good spells. We had good combinations and created chances.

“That was the basic and the most important thing for today, to get those details solved. We had to be practical, pragmatic and compact and aggressive in our own box.

“We needed to control set-pieces and not allow too many, because we know how strong West Ham are in that aspect.

“The players did really well. We have to keep going.”

What the papers say

Tottenham are confident they will keep manager Ange Postecoglou amid interest from Liverpool, the Telegraph reports. Reds boss Jurgen Klopp announced he will step down from the club at the end of the season, with ex-midfielder and current Bayer Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso favourite for the position.

The Daily Mail says West Ham have delayed contract negotiations with manager David Moyes as he deals with a seven-game winless streak.

Manchester United are reportedly interested in Bayern Munich defender Matthijs de Ligt, the Sun reports, with the 24-year-old said to be unhappy at the German club.

Social media round-upPlayers to watch

Bernardo Silva: Manchester City’s 29-year-old midfielder is a target for Paris St Germain with the French club reportedly ready to pay his £51million release clause, Spanish outlet Fijaches says.

Kylian Mbappe: The Athletic reports the French striker, who is available on a free transfer this summer, is not happy with Real Madrid’s latest offer.