45.+1
7:35 p.m
Half-time conclusion:
Referee Robert Jones blows his whistle for half-time and after 45 minutes, Bayer Leverkusen is leading 3-0 against Molde FK! The Werkself’s second guard has also impressed so far with their confidence and determination. Xabi Alonso’s team was superior in every respect at all times in the first round and therefore deservedly lead against the Norwegians, who were overwhelmed at times. Even if the tension is no longer really there due to the current situation, it is simply impressive how self-confident the hosts are in dominating today’s game.
45.+1
19:32
End of 1st half
45.+1
19:32
Official added time (minutes): 1
44.
7:31 p.m
Billiards in the Norwegian penalty area! After an outstanding through pass from Hofmann, Tella is able to penetrate the penalty area from the right alone, moves inwards and looks for the finish at the far corner. Keeper Petersen would have already been beaten, but Hagelskjær cleared the ball on the line in front of the penalty area. There Schick takes the ball with the first contact, but his low shot only hits the left post. The subsequent rebound surprised Hložek so much that the Czech reacted too late from close range and clearly missed the box – that could easily have been number four!
42.
19:28
Following a foul on Adam Hložek, Gustavo Puerta hits a free kick from the left half of the field into the opponent’s penalty area. This time, however, the Norwegian defense is wide awake and can easily clear the action thanks to tight man coverage.
39.
7:25 p.m
Shortly before the break, due to the current state of the game, the air is already a little out of this game; it seems as if both teams are already waiting for the half-time break. Leverkusen are occasionally dangerous with advances into the final third, but are currently holding back, while there is still very little to be seen from the guests on the offensive.
36.
19:22
Molde gets into the opponent’s penalty area for the first time. Captain Haugen hits a soulful cross into the box to Eriksen, who, however, misses the ball. Puerta rushed back and was able to defuse the situation in time.
34.
7:19 p.m
In the last few minutes, Bayer took their foot off the accelerator a little and allowed the guests to move a little further out of their own half. Nevertheless, the Werkself’s quick counterattacks after winning the ball remain extremely dangerous and leave hope for one or two more goals this evening.
31.
19:17
The current Bundesliga leaders are also extremely compact and secure in defense. The Norwegians currently haven’t scored a single goal and generally come under pressure very quickly in the final third, so the ball is usually lost again quickly.
28.
19:14
The Werkself have impressed across the board so far. After half an hour, Xabi Alonso’s team made no attempt to take the game lightly and deservedly led 3-0 against the more or less hopeless Norwegians. Let’s see where this leads…
25.
7:10 p.m
Tooor for Bayer Leverkusen, 3-0 by Martin Ellingsen (own goal)
Molde is falling apart! Leverkusen continues to play cheerfully forward and comes with Nathan Tella on the right side, who hits a flat cross with a lot of pull in front of the goal from the level of the six-yard box on the right of the penalty area. What then happens is extremely bitter for the guests: Anders Hagelskjær shoots at his defender Martin Ellingsen while trying to clear the ball, from whom the ball bounces off into the empty goal – Leverkusen ensures clear conditions!
22.
7:07 p.m
Great for Bayer Leverkusen, 2-0 by Edmond Tapsoba
The Werkself are stepping up! Jonas Hofmann takes a corner from the left side and plays a one-two with Josip Stanišić. The ex-Gladbacher can then cross unchallenged into the box and does so with perfect timing. Edmond Tapsoba heads the ball from the penalty spot and heads the ball into the far corner, making it unstoppable for Oliver Petersen – is that the knockout for the guests?
19.
7:06 p.m
The nimble Nathan easily passes Kristoffer Haugen on the left side with a stepover and hits a cross from the baseline to the second post. Gustavo Puerta comes rushing in, but is decisively disrupted by Mathias Løvik and sends the ball over the visitors’ goal from close range.
16.
19:02
Jonas Hofmann hits a first corner from the right side into the penalty area. There, Edmond Tapsoba gets a header at the near post, but is decisively disrupted by Anders Hagelskjær in the aerial duel, so that the ball ultimately does not reach the goal dangerously.
13.
7:00 p.m
Leverkusen countered after winning the ball in their own half via Andrich and Schick. The scorer to make it 1-0 is served by Hložek, who is in a central position looking for the finish from around 20 meters. However, the Czech falls behind when he shoots and thus pushes the ball well over the visitors’ box.
12.
18:58
The guests from Norway could hardly have gotten off to a worse start. The early deficit presented Erling Moe’s team with a Herculean task after just a few minutes. And as if that wasn’t enough, Qarabag also leads in the parallel game…
9.
18:56
This initial phase also makes it clear how strong Leverkusen is this season. The Werkself are more likely to play second guard today, but they still have a lot of individual quality on the pitch thanks to their diverse squad. The opening goal by Schick a few minutes ago is symbolic of this.
6.
18:52
Great for Bayer Leverkusen, 1-0 by Patrik Schick
Leverkusen gets off to a dream start! After a bad pass in midfield, Robert Andrich quickly switches gears and immediately serves Partik Schick with a strong deep ball. The Czech striker turns up, is able to walk towards the penalty area without resistance and from a central position welds his left arm into the bottom right corner – a strong finish from the striker, who is in the starting line-up today for the first time in over a year!
5.
6:50 p.m
Robert Andrich is served on the right by Nathan Tella, moves inwards and hits it with his left arm just before the penalty area. However, the German international’s finish is too central and therefore an easy task for Oliver Petersen.
3.
6:48 p.m
Leverkusen tried to gain control in the first few moves of this game. The Werkself let the ball run in their own ranks and thus set the direction in which they should go today.
1.
6:46 p.m
The ball is rolling! The spectators in the Bay Arena are looking forward to the duel between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and Molde FK!
1.
6:45 p.m
Game start
6:40 p.m
Today’s game will be officiated by referee Robert Jones. The English referee is assisted on the sidelines by Neil Davies and James Mainwaring.
6:30 p.m
Molde are in charge today, provided the Norwegians want something to do with the last 32 of this year’s Europa League. Accordingly, Erling Moe switches to a 3-5-2 system and rotates to a total of four positions compared to the last draw against Qarabag. In central defense, Hagelskjær replaces Øyvann in the starting line-up, and Breivik is also out with a broken tibia and will therefore be represented in midfield by Kassa. The dual leadership will be completely swapped, so Kitolano and Gulbrandsen will start today for Berisha and Eikrem. It remains to be seen whether the underdog can trump the current Bundesliga leaders today.
6:16 p.m
The hosts are playing in a 4-4-2 system today; as expected, coach Xabi Alonso is giving some of the regulars a break due to the safe starting position and the double workload. So with Tah and Tapsoba there are actually only two players left in today’s starting eleven who were on the pitch from the start against Stuttgart. Among other things, Lomb makes his debut between the posts in the current season today, and players like Hložek, Tella and Puerta also have the chance to draw attention to themselves today. There’s not much at stake for Leverkusen today, but a perfect group phase with six wins from six games certainly sounds tempting.
6:00 p.m
The last game in this year’s Europa League group phase should cause relatively few headaches for today’s hosts. The Werkself were able to win all of their five group games so far and are therefore already confirmed as group winners before kick-off and are therefore already qualified for round 2, or the “final of 16”. However, things are different for the guests from Norway. Coach Erling Moe’s team is currently level on points with Qarabag FK, but is behind in a direct comparison with the Azerbaijanis and is therefore currently in third place in the table. As a result, the Norwegians not only have to score points themselves today in order to keep their chance of making it to the next round, but at the same time they also have to hope for help from the Swedes from Häcken, who have lost every single group game so far. There are certainly better conditions, but as we all know, anything can happen in football…
Welcome to the sixth and final matchday of the Europa League group stage! At 6:45 p.m. Bayer 04 Leverkusen will face Molde FK in the Bay Arena.