NEWS. . . BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
Xabi Alonso rejected David Moyes’ claim that Bayer Leverkusen were “embarrassing” in their 2-0 win over West Ham in the Europa League on Thursday night.
Late goals from Jonas Hofmann and Victor Boniface sealed victory for the Bundesliga leaders in the first leg of the Europa League quarter-finals.
West Ham, meanwhile, will be without Lucas Paqueta for next week’s second leg in London due to a suspension after the midfielder received a yellow card in the defeat to Leverkusen.
Moyes, furious at Leverkusen’s behaviour on the touchline, accused the opposition of influencing referee Artur Dias.
“He [Paqueta] will be a big loss, but I consider his bank a disgrace,” Moyes said.
“I was surrounded. I found it embarrassing and disappointing.
“You let the referee make the decision and not how he reacted to the incident.
“I envisioned it as a rule at all times. We wouldn’t all run away to go around it. It’s a bad thing on their part and they’re a smart team and they didn’t want to react like that.
But when asked about Moyes’ assessment of Leverkusen’s conduct, Alonso replied: “Oh no, I think it was a shot that deserved a yellow card. He completely deserved it. “
“I, David, talk a lot with the fourth official, we all do it, so do I.
“There’s nothing shameful to say. I think we’re right, he wants to see his bench too.
“I respect David but I made the right decision through the referee. We did our thing, we didn’t concentrate on the other bench.
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