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.”

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.

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 a Leverkusen side unbeaten all season.

Goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski said: “I was pleased and we were all pleased to see Jarrod training with us.

“Jarrod is obviously a very important player for us, hopefully he will be able to help us as well.”

West Ham teenager George Earthy was taken to hospital after suffering a horror head injury just two minutes into his Premier League debut.

The 19-year-old had just come on as a substitute when he collided with team-mate Edson Alvarez in the middle of the field.

Earthy fell to the ground awkwardly and appeared to have been knocked out cold, sparking worrying scenes as medics and team-mates rushed to help the stricken youngster.

After receiving treatment for eight minutes, Earthy was carried off on a stretcher. He was conscious when he was taken out of the London Stadium in an ambulance around 20 minutes after full-time.

The Hammers said: “West Ham United can confirm George Earthy will undergo an assessment in a London hospital this evening following the incident which saw him stretchered off during today’s Premier League fixture against Fulham.

“The midfielder – who entered the field as a second half substitute to make his Premier League debut against the Cottagers – was taken off in stoppage time.”

Manager David Moyes said: “I am really disappointed for George. He has been doing really well in training, done really well for the Under-21s.

“He started well with the ball, had some really nice touches. He is fine. It is a head knock. He is awake and has gone to hospital, we think he is OK at the moment. We all thought he had been knocked out but I don’t know any more.”

The incident overshadowed a 2-0 victory for Fulham courtesy of two goals from Andreas Pereira.

It was a second blow to West Ham’s European hopes in the space of four days, following Thursday night’s 2-0 Europa League first-leg defeat at Bayer Leverkusen, as a win would have lifted them to sixth.

“I thought we started well and should have been one or two goals up before they scored,” added Moyes.

“We were caught out by a long ball, we didn’t deal with it well. And we missed some opportunities to score as well. I think we dominated possession, kept the ball and passed it quite well. But we got done on the counter-attack.

“I’m gutted, today was a great chance to go sixth with five games to go, what a great position to be in.”

For Fulham it was a first win in four matches, and a first at West Ham since 2001.

Boss Marco Silva said: “Great win for us, well played from ourselves and to be honest we deserved the three points.

“West Ham had a good chance to score but after that, we scored the first goal and started to control the game. Overall we scored twice but created more chances to score as well.

“I think we were solid, compact and kept our concentration. We should have scored more goals to be even more comfortable.”

West Ham’s European hopes suffered a second blow in the space of four days after a meek 2-0 home defeat by Fulham.

The Hammers were beaten 2-0 by Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final on Thursday, leaving them with a mountain to climb in the return match.

They then blew the chance to climb up to sixth place in the Premier League, and right back into the European shake-up, after two Andreas Pereira goals secured a first win in four for Fulham.

It was the first time the Cottagers had won away to West Ham since 2001 and having dominated the reverse fixture 5-0 in December, they completed a league double over their London rivals for the first time since 1966.

Leverkusen will not be quaking in their boots on the evidence of this timid display.

Yet West Ham should have gone ahead in the opening moments when Lucas Paqueta’s ball over the top saw right-back Vladimir Coufal burst into the area.

His initial effort was repelled by Bernd Leno and when the ball rebounded to the feet of Michail Antonio, the striker blazed over from eight yards.

Mohammed Kudus then curled wide narrowly wide before the lively Paqueta, who is suspended against Leverkusen on Thursday night, hit the side-netting.

But despite their bright start, West Ham conceded to Fulham’s first attack after nine minutes, a goal which would have had manager David Moyes tearing his hair out.

Konstantinos Mavropanos tried to bring down a deep cross from Alex Iwobi but succeeded only in gifting the ball to Pereira, who had been given a free run by Nayef Aguerd.

The Brazilian had the simple task of knocking the ball past Hammers keeper Lukasz Fabianski and finishing into an empty net.

Pereira almost had a second moments later when he slid in to meet Willian’s inviting cross, but he guided it wide.

Coufal has yet to score for West Ham since joining three and a half years ago, and he illustrated why when he crashed a good opportunity wide from Paqueta’s cross.

After the break Fabianski made a big save to tip Iwobi’s shot wide, but he was powerless to prevent Pereira doubling the lead after 72 minutes.

Paqueta was robbed in midfield by Joao Palhinha and Pereira laid the ball off to Rodrigo Muniz. He played in Iwobi, who burst forward before crossing for Pereira to apply another simple finish.

A damaging defeat for the Hammers had a sad postscript when teenage substitute George Earthy had to be carried off on a stretcher after suffering a serious head injury in a collision with team-mate Edson Alvarez, just two minutes into his Premier League debut.

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.

Xabi Alonso insists Bayer Levekusen’s focus is solely on West Ham on Thursday night despite a potentially historic weekend on the horizon.

Leverkusen, unbeaten in all 41 of their matches this season, look set to wrap up a first Bundesliga title on Saturday or Sunday.

All they need to do is match Bayern Munich’s result to be confirmed as champions.

Should Bayern lose to Cologne then Leverkusen will be crowned as title winners without having to kick a ball.

Either way, Alonso’s side will claim the title if they beat Werder Bremen at home on Sunday afternoon.

But Leverkusen are still in the hunt for a treble – they are already in the German Cup final – and first up is the Europa League quarter-final first leg against the Hammers.

Speaking at his pre-match press conference, Alonso said: “We know what West Ham can do. They have experience in Europe, last season they were champions of the Conference League.

“We want to go further and starting tomorrow and then next week in London, we have to play to our own game. We are ready.”

Former Liverpool midfielder Alonso was reportedly among the contenders to replace Jurgen Klopp as Anfield boss.

But the 42-year-old Spaniard has opted to stay at the BayArena, a decision which has thrilled the players according to defender Jeremie Frimpong.

“Everyone has a good feeling,” he said. “We love the coach and we are happy, you see it on the pitch. We simply have this great connection.”

Leverkusen reached the semi-finals of the same competition last season, but were edged out 1-0 on aggregate by Roma.

“When we lost last season in the Europa League semi-final it was difficult, but this season is different, we don’t like losing,” added Frimpong.

“It’s the quarter-finals so we are obviously excited for tomorrow. It’s what football is about, playing against the top teams so we are looking forward to it.”

West Ham have a major doubt over top scorer Jarrod Bowen for the match in Germany, but Leverkusen have also been dealt an injury blow in attack.

They will have to manage without striker Adam Hlozek, who injured his left ankle in the first half of Saturday’s 1-0 win away to Union Berlin.

Fans have criticised UEFA’s decision to allocate a “paltry” 50 per cent of tickets for the Europa League final in Dublin to supporters of the two teams involved.

The match in the Irish capital could yet be an all-English affair, with quarter-finalists Liverpool and West Ham on opposite sides of the draw.

Fans’ group Football Supporters Europe welcomed the fact that the 58 per cent allocation to the Champions League finalists at Wembley this summer was the highest in a decade, but called for a rethink for the continent’s second-tier competition finale on May 22.

“Football Supporters Europe (FSE) today shares its serious concern that the finalists’ allocations at the 2024 Europa League Final in Dublin will reach just 50% of the stadium’s total capacity on the day,” a statement from the group read.

“Further, FSE calls on UEFA and the local organisers to do right by the supporters and increase these allocations.

“A paltry 50 per cent of capacity for Europa League finalist clubs is, simply, not good enough and falls well short of FSE’s demand to provide at least 66 per cent of tickets for all European finals to supporters of the teams involved. Fans of competing teams need to be given clear priority over public sale options.

“Based on previous experiences, a higher allocation of tickets for general sale will significantly fuel black market ticket activity, exploiting fans’ loyalty in the process.”

UEFA confirmed on Tuesday morning that each of the finalists for the Europa League will receive 12,000 tickets for the match, where capacity at the Aviva Stadium will be 48,000.

The tickets allocated to the fans of the finalists will be the cheapest on offer at 40 euros (just over £34) each, with general sale tickets starting at 65 euros (£55.70) each.

The two teams reaching the Champions League final will receive 25,000 tickets each for Wembley, with those tickets also the cheapest available at £60.

UEFA has been approached for a response to FSE’s statement.

UEFA’s general secretary Theodore Theodoridis admitted last month that staging the Europa League final in Dublin could prove “extremely challenging” and revealed the 82,000-capacity Croke Park had been reserved as a potential fan zone.

At the time he made those comments, there was still the possibility of a final between Liverpool and Rangers, two clubs with large followings on the island of Ireland, but the Scottish side were knocked out in the last 16 by Benfica.

However, a number of challenging scenarios remain, not least an all-Premier League encounter in what would be Jurgen Klopp’s final match as Liverpool boss should the Reds make it.

What the papers say

West Ham will join Liverpool, Tottenham and AC Milan in the hunt for 26 -year-old Fulham defender Tosin Adarabioyo, according to the Guardian. The former Manchester City player will be a free agent in summer, but Fulham are hoping to retain his services.

Football Insider says Chelsea are trying to secure the signature of Athletic Bilbao forward Nico Williams for £43million. The 21-year-old Spain international has scored six goals and had 14 assists for Athletic in all competitions this season.

Former Arsenal loanee Dani Ceballos is set to leave Real Madrid for rivals Atletico Madrid as he struggles for game time at the LaLiga leaders, the Sun reports. The 27-year-old Spain midfielder has played just 14 games for the Real Madrid in the league this season, mostly as a substitute.

Social media round-upPlayers to watch

Mohamed Salah: The 31-year-old Liverpool striker is set to be targeted once again by Saudi Pro League clubs this summer with Al Ittihad reportedly set to offer £70million for the Egypt star, Talksport says.

Lucas Paqueta: French media outlet L’Equipe says Manchester City have agreed to terms with the 26-year-old West Ham midfielder.

Wolves boss Gary O’Neil admitted he may face further disciplinary action after confronting referee Tony Harrington following his side’s 2-1 Premier League defeat to West Ham at Molineux.

Wolves were angered when Maximilian Kilman’s goal in the ninth minute of stoppage time was disallowed, something O’Neil described as “possibly the worst decision I’ve ever seen”.

VAR Darren England advised Harrington to check the monitor as Wolves substitute Tawanda Chirewa was stood in front of Lukasz Fabianski in an offside position and deemed to be impeding the West Ham goalkeeper.

Wolves’ protests led to a flurry of yellow cards for those on O’Neil’s bench, and the manager said he walked towards the tunnel because he was aware he is one yellow card away from a touchline ban.

But O’Neil’s attempts to speak to Harrington after the game may yet lead to further problems.

“Unfortunately I wasn’t able to control my emotions and my feelings,” O’Neil said. “I was in with the referee and it didn’t go too well so I haven’t had an explanation.

“But the explanation is irrelevant anyway because everyone I’ve spoken to, David Moyes, Fabianski, they all can’t believe it’s been given for offside. It’s a terrible decision.”

O’Neil said Harrington shut down their conversation “probably because of the way I asked”, adding that he was “in a fairly bad mood” when he went to the referee’s room.

“I don’t know if it will be reported,” O’Neil added. “If I get told off, so be it. I’ve been told off many times before. I will apologise if I’ve stepped over the line but I can only react on how I feel at that moment.”

West Ham came from behind to win with James Ward-Prowse scoring directly from a corner after Lucas Paqueta’s penalty cancelled out a first-half spot-kick from Pablo Sarabia.

Moyes expressed sympathy for O’Neil but said any player stood where Chirewa had was at risk of being penalised for offside.

Asked if his side had got away with a decision, the Scot said: “I think I’m probably the last man at the moment to say you’re getting away with one. We’ve had so many poor decisions it is unbelievable in recent weeks.

“When I’ve looked at it again, the boy’s definitely standing in front of the goalkeeper…and if that player is not going to try to get back onside then there’s a chance you’ll be called offside.

“But I have to say I felt for Gary because the way I’ve felt the last 2-3 weeks with the decisions we’ve had, I’ve been sitting in a dark room for a week.”

Wolves have disputed several refereeing decisions throughout the season, and O’Neil said his players felt they had been disrespected.

“The players are unbelievably frustrated with the decision-making and officiating,” he said.

“They had a discussion as a group, they don’t feel like they’re being respected by the officials and I’ve talked them down a couple of times from figuring out what they want to do about that.

“I can’t expect them not to this time, I understand how they feel about it, and whatever they decide to do about it is up to them.”

Wolves had deservedly led at the break, but West Ham improved massively after the half-time introduction of Michail Antonio and Ben Johnson.

“I think the two teams changed shirts at half-time,” Moyes said.

But the win may have come at a cost with Jarrod Bowen limping off as Thursday’s Europa League match away to Bayer Leverkusen looms.

“He’s had a knee into his hip, or into his back,” Moyes said. “It’s not a twist but he’s really stiff. I’ve had one or two of those myself and they don’t go away too quickly so we need to hope it doesn’t linger with him.”

James Ward-Prowse scored directly from a corner as West Ham came from behind to win 2-1 at Wolves but only after Jarrod Bowen was injured, days before their Europa League clash against Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen.

Ward-Prowse took advantage of the wind whipping around Molineux to curl in a corner in the 84th minute after Lucas Paqueta’s 72nd-minute penalty had cancelled out a first-half spot-kick from Pablo Sarabia in this Premier League contest.

Wolves captain Maximilian Kilman thought he had levelled in the ninth minute of stoppage time but his header was ruled out for offside after a VAR intervention.

The win puts West Ham level on points with sixth-placed Manchester United in the fight for Europa League places, but their immediate European ambitions may well be hurt after Bowen fell awkwardly at the start of the second half, with the trip to Leverkusen looming on Thursday night.

David Moyes’ side have now taken 19 points from losing positions this season, although this was only West Ham’s third league win of 2024.

The Hammers could and should have taken the lead 11 minutes in through the industry of Bowen, who robbed Nelson Semedo on the byline and threaded a low ball through to Tomas Soucek yards from goal. However, the Czech Republic international could not get the ball out of his feet.

It was a key moment as Wolves went on to dominate the rest of the half. Rayan Ait-Nouri, nominally a left-back but a player who came into the game with three goals in four games after being shifted in a more attacking role, again took on the leading role.

The Algerian went close when he ran almost the length of the pitch to burst into the box, only for Kurt Zouma to slide in as he was about to pull the trigger, before Tommy Doyle brought a save out of veteran goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski, again deputising for the injured Alphonse Areola.

The pressure was building and paid off when Doyle’s pass from the left found another excellent run from Ait-Nouri, who was felled by Emerson Palmieri in the box. After a VAR check, Sarabia stepped up to beat Fabianski with a spot-kick that went in off the inside of the right-hand post.

Moyes may well have had one eye on Thursday’s trip to Germany when leaving Michail Antonio on the bench but he took action on the break as the Jamaican came on to make his 300th appearance, joined by Ben Johnson as Soucek and Vladimir Coufal made way.

Minutes after the restart Bowen appeared to injure his hip after a challenge with Gomes, and moments later Wolves lost Ait-Nouri, who hobbled off in the 55th minute to be replaced by Matheus Cunha.

The changes seemed to do more to help West Ham as they finally exerted some pressure. Mohammed Kudus fired over before Ward-Prowse saw a free-kick deflected wide.

The Hammers thought they were level in the 63rd minute when Emerson headed in, but Tony Harrington generously signalled for a foul on Semedo in the build-up.

Wolves were creating their own problems, failing to clear the ball, and would be made to pay in the 72nd minute.

Gomes played the ball back to Toti in a tight space and West Ham whipped it away before Emerson’s cross was blocked by the arm of Kilman, with Paqueta dispatching the penalty after a stuttering run-up.

Johnson tested Sa with a volley and two minutes later, Ward-Prowse’s corner sailed over the goalkeeper and in.

Wolves thought they were level at the end but Harrington was sent to the check the screen by VAR Darren England and Tawanda Chirewa was deemed to be blocking Fabianski as Kilman headed in the corner, to the fury of the home fans.

Ange Postecoglou felt Tottenham’s 1-1 draw at West Ham was a step in the right direction despite dropping more points in the top-four race.

Brennan Johnson’s early strike was cancelled out by a goal from Kurt Zouma as a frantic London derby ended all square.

“I thought for the most part we controlled the game pretty well,” said the Spurs boss.

“They are a big strong team. They sit deep and make it difficult for you. You have to be fairly calm in your approach but also really disciplined because they are a threat from the counter-attack.

“We conceded from a set-piece but the rest of the set-pieces we coped with really well. In the front third we lacked a bit of clarity of thought.

“But they are human beings, it is just football. I would love to have a joystick and put them where I want them, but it doesn’t work like that.

“Sometimes we have more time than we think. There were times when the ball was flashed across the box when we should have been in those areas.

“It is all part of the development. That is why we have coaches, why we develop a system. We are not the finished article and we know that.

“There was enough there tonight for me to say that it is a team still heading in the right direction.”

West Ham should have gone ahead inside four minutes when Mohammed Kudus rolled the ball across goal, but Jarrod Bowen put a simple chance wide.

Just over a minute later they were behind when Tottenham put a carbon copy chance away, Timo Werner crossing for Johnson to sweep home.

The Hammers equalised in bizarre fashion in the 19th minute when Bowen swung in a corner.

With Spurs goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario rooted to his line, the unmarked Zouma went up for a header and glanced the ball into the net off his back.

Michail Antonio spurned a glorious chance to put West Ham ahead after half-time when he held off Micky van de Ven to go one on one with Vicario, only to fluff his finish.

Destiny Udogie could have won it for Spurs in stoppage time but drilled his shot straight at Lukasz Fabianski.

“It was probably fair in the end, we did a lot of good things and showed much more resilience in defence tonight,” said Hammers boss David Moyes.

“We looked a threat and had to do a good job to stop a very good Tottenham team.”

Moyes, whose side won 2-1 at Tottenham in December, added: “Overall, if you’re giving me four points off Spurs before the season started, I’d have shaken your hand, walked away and said ‘thanks very much’.”