In a high-stakes match, West Ham United faced off against the recently crowned Bundesliga champions, Bayern Leverkusen. The pressure was on for West Ham, who needed to end Leverkusen’s remarkable 44 games unbeaten streak across all competitions to propel themselves into the Europa League semi-finals.

The game started with a bang as Michail Antonio opened the scoring for the Hammers in the 13th minute. However, West Ham still needed another goal to cancel out Leverkusen’s 2-0 deficit from the first leg. Despite several attempts from Jarrod Bowen and James Ward-Prowse, they couldn’t find the back of the net.

Leverkusen struggled to equalize in the first half, and Xabi Alonso made three crucial substitutions. As the second half began, the visitors seemed overwhelmed, allowing West Ham to press for an equalizer. Bowen came close after a costly mistake from Piero Hincapie, but the home side couldn’t capitalize.

In a dramatic turn of events, Leverkusen struck a fantastic shot late in the game. At the 89th minutes, Frimpong’s effort deflected off Aaron Cresswell’s body, beating Lukas Fabianski and securing Leverkusen’s unbeaten legacy. The German side advanced, leaving West Ham with a valiant effort but ultimately falling short.