West Ham United lost their Europa League quarter-final tie on Thursday night after drawing against Bayer Leverkusen at the London Stadium, unable to overturn the 2-0 deficit from the first leg in Germany.
Over a week ago, at Leverkusen, David Moyes' side fought valiantly; on home turf, West Ham produced a confident and controlled performance and will be devastated that they couldn't add to Michail Antonio's early goal, succumbing in the dying embers when Jeremie Frimpong's strike took a big deflection off Aaron Cresswell, Xabi Alonso's side's season-long unbeaten record still intact.
So… what now? The Hammers can take solace from their spirited approach in both legs and while Fulham won at the London Stadium last weekend as Moyes rested several players, the side are eighth in the Premier League and just two points off inconsistent Manchester United, who hold on to the final Europe-qualifying spot.
With just five games remaining this term, hitting a rich vein of form is now crucial, and with Jarrod Bowen fit once again, United might just craft a successful finish.
Jarrod Bowen's season in numbers
West Ham's talisman. The first signing of Moyes' second tenure at the club. The top scorer in all competitions this season with 19 goals. The clincher of the Europa Conference League trophy last summer.
Bowen has been lauded for his "unbelievable" goalscoring feats by talkSPORT's Simon Jordan earlier this season and has been so important throughout West Ham's brightest period in a generation.
It was the England international's whipped assist that found Antonio's head in the early phase on Thursday evening, an illustration of his multi-faceted skill set and the ability to breach even the most secure, steeliest defences in Europe.
He's a first-class player and his offensive tools will be vital in the weeks to come if West Ham are indeed to reclaim a qualifying spot and secure a fourth successive season on the continent.
However, his placement in the thick of the attacking action makes him the obvious pick, but there was another player in midweek who, if they hadn't already, underscored why they are actually Moyes' most important player.
Why Edson Alvarez is so important for West Ham
The man in question is Edson Alvarez, who missed the first leg against the newly-crowned German Bundesliga champions due to suspension – his absence was keenly felt.
Alvarez signed for the Hammers in a £35m deal from Ajax last summer in what is clearly the most direct replacement of Declan Rice's presence, with the Arsenal star leaving for a record £105m after winning the Conference League.
Matches played
37
Matches started
36
Goal
4
Assists
2
Pass completion
88%
Key passes per game
1.0
Tackles per game
2.1
Interceptions per game
1.7
Clearances per game
1.5
Duels won per game
4.4 (58%)
Dribbles per game
0.9 (61%)
A force of a midfielder, Alvarez ranks among the top 12% of positional peers across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for tackles, the top 15% for interceptions, the top 1% for blocks and the top 2% for clearances per 90, as per FBref, having also been hailed for his "unreal" form by journalist Jack Fawcett.
Replacing Rice was never going to be an easy task but Alvarez has excelled, completing 86% of his passes in the Premier League this season, as per Sofascore, averaging 2.6 tackles, 5.6 ball recoveries and 2.4 clearances per game, succeeding with 65% of his 0.9 dribbles per match and winning 51% of his 5.1 contested duels per game.
Against Leverkusen, the Mexico international made five tackles, won ten duels and took 72 touches, earning a player rating of 8/10 against Europe's most in-form team, with The Standard's Malik Ouzia saying: 'How he was missed when suspended in Germany. Read the game superbly to allow teammates to go hell-for-leather in the press.'
Alvarez is the glue that holds it all together, and while Bowen could be the spike-point at the front of the team, Moyes' Mexican general is the one who could make the real difference in these closing weeks of the campaign.
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