Edson Álvarez insists West Ham United are targeting a fast start this evening as they look to come from behind and seal progression to the UEFA Europa League semi-finals.
The Hammers trail recently-crowned Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen by two goals following a 2-0 defeat in the first leg – a match Álvarez missed due to suspension as a result of accumulating three yellow cards across previous fixtures in Europe this season.
While David Moyes’ men will be without Emerson and Lucas Paquetá following their yellow cards at the BayArena last week, Álvarez is expected to return to the Irons squad for tonight’s game.
And the Mexico international’s experience and quality will be crucial for arguably the biggest game of the Club’s campaign.
“It’s very frustrating, but I have learnt my lesson in terms of accumulating yellow cards,” said Álvarez, who scored his first West Ham goal against SC Freiburg in the UEFA Europa League group stage.
“I watched the first leg at home with my family. It left a very sour taste, not only because of the result but because I couldn’t help the team out. It’s very frustrating, but I have learnt my lesson in terms of accumulating yellow cards.
“Tonight is a very important match, a difficult game, we know who we are facing, it’s all or nothing. We have to go out there and bring out the best version of ourselves.”
The task is of course not an easy one after substitutes Jonas Hofmann and Victor Boniface struck late on to power Bayer Leverkusen to victory last week.
Having recovered from a similar scenario against SC Freiburg in the round of 16, when they responded to a 1-0 defeat in the first leg by triumphing 5-0 back on home soil, Moyes’ men will need to show their attacking quality once more.
They have done that a fair bit this season, though. West Ham have beaten Arsenal (twice), Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and Manchester United in the Premier League during 2023/24, while they have regularly shown their ability to mix it with some of the continent's big hitters over the last three seasons.
Let’s do this, together.
COME ON YOU IRONS! ⚒️ pic.twitter.com/r8vT8aD83W— West Ham United (@WestHam) April 18, 2024
Bayer Leverkusen is the next task ahead, but like the fixture against Freiburg, do the Irons need an early goal tonight?
“Out of all the scenarios, that would be the ideal one,” Álvarez added. “Scoring a goal early on, that’s what happened against Freiburg and we managed to get the result we needed.
“But even if it doesn’t play out that way, we’ve got 90-plus minutes to get the goals we need to turn this around.
“We had a more defensive approach to the game in the first leg. We lacked ball control throughout the game, despite having very good ball players.
“Of course, they also have very good players, so it’s about finding that balance. But [because of the game situation] we have to go for it and give it our all to reduce the deficit.”
