Jonas Hofmann and Victor Boniface scored after coming off the bench as Bayer Leverkusen beat West Ham 2-0 at home on Thursday in their Europa League quarter-final first leg.
Needing stoppage time winners from Patrick Schick to win both legs of their last 16 tie with Qarabag, Leverkusen were dominant but had failed to break through against the dogged visitors.
With 14 minutes remaining, coach Xabi Alonso brought on Hofmann and Boniface and the move did the trick, the Nigerian linking with the Germany winger for the opener in the 83rd minute.
Boniface then sealed the result in stoppage time, heading in a Hofmann cross for a 2-0 win.
โItโs not luck, itโs for a reason,โ Alonso told reporters of his sideโs habit of winning late.
โWhen it was 0-0 you could try and overreact and lose control while trying to score. We didnโt want to do that. We wanted to insist and we wanted to keep going.โ
The victory continues what could be a stunning week for Leverkusen, who are 16 points clear of Bayern Munich in Germany and can win their first Bundesliga title by beating Werder Bremen at home on Sunday.
Alonso told reporters โthe anticipation is huge โ it couldnโt be bigger.โ
โWe have a chance on Sunday โ if we win, weโre champions. We need to step on the gas and it would be something very special to achieve.โ
โThe fans singing gave me goosebumps,โ Hofmann told German TV network RTL.
โIt means everything to be able to hold up the shield at the end of the season. It will be a moment where maybe a few tears will fall. We might get overwhelmed, but you need to let your emotions flow.โ
A โChampions League teamโ
West Ham, who fought hard with little in the way of possession or field position, will need to become the first team to beat Alonsoโs side this season to return to the semi-finals.
West Ham coach David Moyes praised his opponents.
โWeโre playing a Champions League (level) team tonight โ and a good one at that,โ said Moyes.
West Hamโs approach mirrored that of their last 16 visit to Freiburg, with Moyesโ men sitting deep away in the hope of deciding things on their own turf, hopefully with injured talisman Jarrod Bowen returning to their ranks.
โThe first thing we need to do is get one goal โ one goal and weโll go from there,โ Moyes said of the second leg.โ
Schick had a chance to put the hosts in front early, backheeling a Florian Wirtz pass after seven minutes but Lukasz Fabianski was perfectly placed to save.
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Fabianski needed to be a little more acrobatic to keep out Leverkusenโs next chance, the West Ham goalkeeper leaping to stop Amine Adliโs 11th minute effort.
The hostsโ dominance continued to go unrewarded in the second-half, Fabianski again leaping acrobatically to save an expertly placed Schick header with 20 minutes remaining.
Alonso would be forgiven for having flashbacks to the semi-finals of this competition last season, where Jose Mourinhoโs Roma bundled Leverkusen out with a similar approach.
With the match heading towards a scoreless draw, Alonso made changes, bringing on Boniface and Hofmann.
Hofmann struck first from a Boniface cross before setting up the Nigerianโs stoppage time strike, sealing another late win for Alonsoโs side.
In addition to overturning a two-goal deficit, West Ham will be short staffed in the return leg even if Bowen does return, with Emerson and Lucas Paqueta set to miss out having picked up yellow cards
