Bayer 04 simply cannot be beaten. Even if Qarabag Agdam looks like a defeat for a long time, Leverkusen saves itself in stoppage time.
Bayer Leverkusen simply cannot be beaten at the moment: The “Werkself” played their 35th competitive game in a row without a defeat on Thursday evening.
It looked like a defeat for Leverkusen for a long time in the first leg of the round of 16 of the Europa League against Qarabag Agdam in the Azerbaijani capital Baku, but striker Schick scored with a header in stoppage time to make the final score 2-2. This puts Bayer 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 Jankovic 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 the focus of attention almost a quarter of an hour later when he defused an attempt from Juninho with his left hand (24′). After the subsequent corner, the ball landed again at Jankovic, 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, Leverkusen tried more on offense, but it didn’t result in anything 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 in the build-up, Patrick Andrade skillfully passed to Juninho, who skilfully let Bayer keeper Kovář get out and slotted in to make it 2-0.
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 Witz (for Hlozek) and Xhaka (for Palacios) into the game in the 58th minute.
The two stars visibly changed the statics of Leverkusen’s game – which was reflected in opportunities for Witz (61′) and Tapsoba (63′). But Qarabag’s keeper Lunev, who was still under contract with Bayern until the summer, was always at his post.
Leverkusen’s pressure continued to increase and in the 70th minute, after a defensive mistake, the strong Witz scored the goal with a more sensitive lob. In stoppage time, Schick scored the final score (90 +2).