Bayer 04 simply cannot be beaten at the moment. Even if Qarabag Agdam looks like a defeat for a long time, Leverkusen saves itself in stoppage time.
Bundesliga table leaders Bayer Leverkusen continue to ride a wave of success: The “Werkself” completed their 35th competitive game in a row without defeat with a 2-2 (0-2) draw at Qarabag Agdam on Thursday evening.
In the first round of 16 of the Europa League in the Azerbaijani capital Baku, it looked like a defeat for Leverkusen for a long time, but Florian Wirtz (70th minute) and Patrik Schick (90th + 2) managed to equalize after the hosts through Yassine Benzia (26th) and Juninho (45th + 2) took the lead.
“The opponents were very well prepared for us and did very well in the first half,” said Leverkusen’s national player Florian Wirtz, who was substituted in the second half, after the final whistle on RTL. At half-time, Bayer “made some changes” after which the team “even had a chance to win in the end.” This means that Leverkusen will be in a good position to make it into the next round in front of their home crowd next Thursday.
Before the encounter in Baku, Leverkusen manager Simon Rolfes once again had to answer questions about the future of coach Xabi Alonso. However, this did not reveal any real news. “There’s a lot of writing going on. So I’m relaxed and I don’t get dizzy,” said the 42-year-old at the RTL microphone.
When asked whether Liverpool FC or Bayern Munich had already contacted him about Alonso, Rolfes replied: “Nobody has asked me, neither has Fernando (Carro, the club’s managing director; editor’s note). .”
That’s how the game went
Bayer 04 struggled from the start on the deep pitch in the Tofik Bakhramov Stadium and had problems playing their technically demanding game. In contrast, the hosts presented themselves cheekily and had the first good opportunity of the game through Janković in the 10th minute. Leverkusen’s substitute keeper Kovář, who plays for regular keeper Hrádecký in the European Cup, parried the Montenegrin’s long-range shot without any problems.
Bayer’s goalkeeper was also in focus almost a quarter of an hour later when he defused an attempt from Juninho with his left hand (24′). After the following corner, the ball landed again at Janković, whose deflected shot hit the post (25th).
In the subsequent attack, Leverkusen lost the ball after a carelessness in the build-up – which Qarabag punished coldly and took the lead after a well-considered pass from Juninho through Benzia (26th).
After that, Bayer became more active on offense, but there was nothing more than a lob from Palacios, which missed the goal quite clearly (43′). Instead, the Bundesliga leaders suffered their next setback in stoppage time in the first half: After the Rhinelanders lost the ball again due to carelessness in the build-up, Patrick Andrade passed to Juninho, who skillfully let Bayer keeper Kovář get out and made it 2-0 inserted.
After the break, Bayer came back onto the pitch much more committed and took the initiative straight away. However, this only led to notable scoring chances after coach Alonso brought top talent Wirtz (for Hložek) and leading player Xhaka (for Palacios) into the game in the 58th minute.