An incident on the sidelines between both benches saw a red card delivered to each, though neither were for Xabi Alonso or David Moyes, before goalscorer Antonio and Leverkusen's Jonathan Tah clashed and sparked a brawl between players.

Alonso, who was still clinging onto his unbeaten record after delivering the Bundesliga title, attempted to calm the storm before Odilon Kossounou was substituted off for Edmond Tapsoba.

Both Tah and Antonio were booked for their roles in the kerfuffle, though received a less severe punishment than Hammers coach Billy McKinlay who was sent off as the tie descended into chaos.

McKinlay could be seen gesturing in the face of one member of Leverkusen's staff, though it is unknown what caused the frenzy in the dugout before it spilt out onto the pitch.

It remains to be seen whether the two incidents were coincidental, as after the match official had eased the fury between the two sets of coaches, Antonio and Kossounou began wrestling and had to be broken up by their team-mates.

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