‘When people expect us to lose, other things happen’published at 15:21 11 April
Bayer Leverkusen v West Ham (20:00 BST)
West Ham striker Michail Antonio has issued a rallying cry before Thursday’s Europa League quarter final first leg away to Bayer Leverkusen.
Leverkusen are 16 points clear at the top of the Bundesliga and will secure the first league title in their history with a win at home to Werder Bremen on Sunday.
“The thing is, everyone thinks we’ve got this game already. We’ve got nothing really to lose,” Antonio told the Footballer’s Football podcast.
“One thing with us is when people expect us to lose, other things happen.
“Two years ago we went to Sevilla away, lost 1-0, came back and everyone thought it was over, they always win the Europa League and stuff like that. What happened? It was us, knocked them out, home game, atmosphere was unbelievable.
“Last year everyone thought Fiorentina had the better team, West Ham is just alright, thinking we’ve done well just to get to the final. Nope, we’re holding the trophy.
“We’re gonna take it easy, go there, believe and go out there and do what we can.
“As long as we perform well it doesn’t matter if we win or we lose. We just have to go out there and do enough for the fans to be happy.”