Michail Antonio's rant at officials in full after West Ham's Europa League exit

Michail Antonio expressed his frustration that West Ham was effectively playing against more than just the opposition during their Europa League exit at the hands of Bayer Leverkusen.

Antonio, who netted an early goal to spark hopes of a comeback from a 2-0 first-leg loss, was critical of the officiating team led by Spanish referee Jose Maria Sanchez. "Obviously disappointed," Antonio told TNT Sports following the final whistle. "Last week we gave them a bit too much respect, but this week we came out and showed them what we can do.

"I felt like I didn't get a decision all game. I felt a bit frustrated. We felt like we deserved more. But it's football, sometimes the decisions don't go your way. We move on and build on that and try to get into the Europa League next year.

"It doesn't feel like you're playing against 11 men, it feels like you're playing against 13 or 14 including the two lions.

"You just have to keep pushing and try and make the decisions go your way. And they just weren't. We had to keep playing our way and keep being professional. We're very proud of ourselves, to achieve what we've achieved over the last four years is incredible.

"Four back-to-back years in European quarter-finals I would never have thought that. We were a yo-yo team, into Europe, then fighting for relegation."

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The Hammers' efforts for a second goal to extend the match to extra time fell short as Leverkusen's Jeremie Frimpong scored late on, resulting in a 1-1 draw for the night and a 3-1 aggregate defeat for West Ham.

Reflecting on West Ham's European journey, Antonio remained positive about the team's achievements. "We're very proud of ourselves, to achieve what we've achieved over the last few years is incredible," he said, acknowledging the club's transformation from relegation battles to consistent European quarter-final appearances.

Sanchez had a busy night, booking 11 players and sending off West Ham's coach Billy McKinlay along with Sebastian Parrilla from Leverkusen's staff following a touchline scuffle. Alonso couldn't suppress a smile when asked if the touchline tussle was related to heated exchanges in last week's first leg, responding: "I wouldn't say no."

David Moyes chose not to comment extensively on the refereeing but did mention: "I watch a lot of Spanish football but if that's the way it is you wouldn't want to watch too many Spanish matches."

Reflecting on his team's effort, Moyes praised them, saying: "It was a brilliant team performance, I have to say over the two games. We played a really good team and we had chances to be two or three up.

"I couldn't fault the players at all. If I was going out of Europe I wanted to go out like that."

Leverkusen seemed off-pace in the first half, possibly due to their recent Bundesliga triumph and Alonso acknowledged the need for improvement post-interval. The former Liverpool midfielder described the match as thrilling, noting: "Two different halves.

"First half we knew West Ham would come with high intensity and we were not comfortable with that. After they scored one we were lucky not to concede a second one.

"But we showed character in the second half and the substitutes had a good impact. It was a lesson for us."