‘Fully deserved’ – Xabi Alonso defends Bayer Leverkusen following David Moyes’ ‘disgraceful’ Lucas Paqueta claim

Xabi Alonso has dismissed David Moyes’ claims that Bayer Leverkusen were “disgraceful” in Thursday’s Europa League clash.

Goals from Jonas Hofmann and Victor Boniface gave the Bundesliga leaders a 2-0 victory ahead of next week’s quarter-final second leg at the London Stadium.

West Ham were further hampered by a yellow card awarded to Lucas Paqueta, who will now miss the crucial second leg due to suspension.

Moyes remained furious at the circumstances surrounding Paqueta’s 21st-minute booking at the BayArena.

The Hammers boss criticized the conduct of the Leverkusen bench, accusing them of influencing referee Artur Dias to book the Brazilian.

“He (Paqueta) will be a huge miss, but I thought their bench was a disgrace,” Moyes said after the defeat.

“He was surrounded. I found this shameful and really disappointing.

“You should let the referee make the decision and not how he reacted to the incident.

“I thought it was a rule until the end. We wouldn’t all run away and surround him. It was a bad thing on their part and they’re a good team and they didn’t need to react like that.

Alonso disagreed with Moyes’ view, insisting it was the right decision, as he remarked: “Oh no, I think it was a tackle that deserved a yellow card. It was fully deserved.

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“I think David speaks to the fourth official a lot, we all do, me too.

“There is nothing shameful to say. I think we are absolutely right, he needs to see his bench too.

“I have respect for David, but I thought it was the right decision by the referee. We did our thing, we didn’t focus on the other bench.

West Ham must become the first team this season to beat Leverkusen if they have any chance of progressing to the semi-final.

Alonso’s side are unbeaten in all competitions and can claim their first Bundesliga title with victory against Werder Bremen on Sunday.