West Ham United must wait to find out if they will play in the Europa League next season after they slumped to defeat at Stoke City.
The Hammers faced the remote possibility of a playoff with Liverpool for a place in Europe, but after a quiet start, they tried to take the initiative as Manuel Lanzini weaved his way past defenders before seeing his shot blocked.
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Stoke began the game slowly and aside from a Jonathan Walters cross, which was easily dealt with by keeper Darren Randolph, West Ham looked to impose themselves on proceedings with plenty of early possession.
The visitors took the lead on 23 minutes as Winston Reid headed the ball into the path of Michail Antonio, whose shot left Shay Given beaten.
Antonio could have had a second goal minutes later as he ran in on goal, but fired his effort over the bar.
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West Ham continued to press and wasted another chance on 27 minutes as Diafra Sakho smashed his shot into the side-netting.
Stoke barely threatened the Hammers' defence until five minutes before half time, but Bojan Krkic's strike failed to test Randolph.
However, the Potters got back on level terms when Gianelli Imbula picked out the corner of the net from 20 yards.
Things got worse for West Ham with two minutes left as Mame Biram Diouf powered a header home to give Stoke the lead and leave the Clarets' European hopes dangling by a thread.
The result means that the Hammers now need Manchester United to win next week's FA Cup final to reach next season's Europa League.
Chris O'Keefe
