The burning sense of injustice that coursed through West Ham after being denied the chance to wipe out Freiburg’s slender advantage should not make them look past the failings that left their hopes of salvaging a draw from the first leg of this last-16 tie dependent on the whims of a referee with a curious interpretation of the handball law.
Admittedly the fury that greeted Alejandro Hernández not awarding a penalty after Noah Weisshaupt blocked Tomas Soucek’s attempted shot with an outstretched arm deep into stoppage time was understandable. The home crowd roared, perhaps as much out of disbelief as jubilation, and David Moyes fumed. The initial check by the VAR had taken an age and it seemed inevitable that the decision would go against Freiburg when the Spanish official ran over to the pitchside monitor.
“I think it’s a penalty,” Moyes said. “Nowadays if you have two hands above your head, it is a penalty. If it was a free-kick for a push, he never restarted the game with that. If he kicked it on to the arm, it is a really poor clearance. With Uefa, if anything hits your arms they tend to give penalty kicks.”
Even so West Ham, who were guilty of too many bad choices throughout a disappointing 1-0 defeat, will only have themselves to blame if they exit the Europa League at the London Stadium next week. Nothing summed up the lethargy more than the only goal of a poor game coming when Edson Álvarez lost the ball with nine minutes left and the Freiburg substitute, Michael Gregoritsch, tapped into an empty net after eluding West Ham’s increasingly vulnerable centre-back, Kurt Zouma.
It was hard to tell that West Ham were favourites following their wins over Freiburg during the group stage. Moyes raged at their passing for much of a forgettable first half. They created little after Jarrod Bowen volleyed wide from Mohammed Kudus’s cross. Lucas Paquetá repeatedly losing possession was not a good sign.
There was no control in midfield. Kudus toiled on the right and James Ward-Prowse did nothing in open play. Yet Freiburg, who are ninth in the Bundesliga after a patchy run, lacked conviction. Roland Sallai spurned two chances and Lucas Höler shot straight at Lukasz Fabianski.
West Ham perked up at the start of the second half. Paquetá headed over and Konstantinos Mavropanos hit the woodwork after Noah Atubolu flapped at Ward-Prowse’s corner. Space appeared on the counterattack. A combination between Paquetá and Kudus released Bowen, who drew an excellent save from Atubolu. Yet the game remained bitty. West Ham had to make a change at left-back, Aaron Cresswell coming on when Emerson Palmieri went off with a groin injury, and Freiburg stirred after Ward-Prowse shot tamely. Gregoritsch headed straight at Fabianski after coming off the bench.
West Ham’s focus faded. They played themselves into trouble, Álvarez giving possession away. Freiburg pounced, Sallai shot from the left and Zouma failed to notice Gregoritsch lurking in the six-yard box.
