Yellow-red for Haberer
Union Berlin’s trip to Europe has come to an unfortunate end. At the namesake Royale Union Saint Gilloise, the Bundesliga club missed the historic entry into the quarter-finals of the Europa League. The Belgians were clearly superior to the tired Berliners, who have been without a win for five games, in a 3-0 (1-0) win on Thursday evening. Teddy Teuma (18th) set the course for the hosts with his goal early on victory. Lazare Amani (63rd) made everything clear, Loïc Lapoussin (90th + 4) even caused Union’s highest European defeat. Substitute Janik Haberer saw the yellow-red card in the 80th minute for repeated foul play.
The “Iron” had nothing to oppose in their 14th competitive game this year. Instead of hoping for a cracker like Juventus Turin or Manchester United as the next international opponents, the Berliners now have to concentrate on the Bundesliga final sprint. The consolation: The qualification for the Champions League in the coming season is still there. On Sunday (3.30 p.m.) Eintracht Frankfurt will be a direct competitor in the duel of this week’s disappointed European Cup losers in the stadium at the Alte Försterei.
Just no hair-raising individual mistakes like in the wild 3: 3 in the first leg – that was what coach Urs Fischer had made clear as his expectation.
Diogo Leite did exactly that in the sixth minute. Simon Adingra’s shot was cleared by Robin Knoche just before the line. Victor Boniface put the rebounding ball against the post. The Berliners should have known the power of Saint-Gilloise better from the three duels in the group phase and the first leg. The 2,000 or so loyal Union fans quickly realized that this would be their last trip abroad this season. After the UEFA threat of an away ban, no pyrotechnics were fired this time. A banner with a tirade against the association was a form of protest.
Bayer in the top 5: The round of 16 in the Europa League according to squad values
When Leite again let Adingra take him by surprise after Knoche’s risky pass, Teuma threw the ball low into the goal. Captain Rani Khedira tried to demonstrate defiance and perseverance with body language. It was just an attempt. Saint-Gilloise played his stint in a beat that unnerved the opponent, as Union Berlin tends to do at its best.
When the feeling came up in the second half that Union might be able to force extra time with a lucky shot, Boniface freed his colleague Amani, who shot in and celebrated with a flick flack. Not only the better soccer players, but also the better floor gymnasts came from the Belgian Union that evening. Shortly before the line, Sheraldo Becker (87′) prevented Boniface from making it 3-0 with a save before Lapoussin scored the final point.
Victory in Hungary too: Bayer 04 fulfill their duty in the Europa League
Then it was just Bayern and Bayer: Bayer Leverkusen kept a cool head in the witches’ cauldron of Budapest and was one of only two Bundesliga teams to reach the quarter-finals of the European Cup competitions. After the 2-0 win in Leverkusen, the “Werkself” also won the round of 16 second leg of the Europa League at Ferencváros Budapest in the atmospheric Puskás Aréna 2-0 (1-0) on Thursday and reached the quarter-finals of an international competition for the eighth time . Under the eyes of Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Moussa Diaby laid the foundation for victory with his goal in the 3rd minute, which was sealed by substitute Amine Adli (81st).
In addition to FC Bayern Munich in the Champions League, Bayer is the only German club that is still in one of the competitions. A total of seven clubs were still in the round of 16. The Munich team are coming to the BayArena for the league duel on Sunday. This will be a special game, especially for Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso, who played for Bayern Munich from 2014 to 2017.
Ferencváros had relocated to the almost 70,000-seat Puskás Aréna for the biggest match in Hungarian club football in almost 20 years. It wasn’t completely full, but the visitors provided a magnificent backdrop. Both the team and the Hungarian fans got really busy at the start of the game. An early goal was the motto to shake the arena and shake Bayer. The early goal came after 161 seconds – but on the other side. After a long ball from Edmond Tapsoba, Diaby pulled up and away and finished thoughtfully.
But the Hungarians quickly recovered. With the abolition of the away goals rule, the endeavor did not seem completely hopeless. A long-range shot by full-back Eldar Civic just missed the goal (8′), Leverkusen goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky made a splendid save against Amer Gojak (22′) and a deflected shot by Adama Traoré saved the crossbar (38′). Overall, Leverkusen played calmly and orderly, although not without mistakes. Overall, Bayer didn’t put enough needles in the first round, a shot from Jeremie Frimpong (32′), a header from Tapsoba (33′) after a corner and a shot from Diaby (45′ + 1) at least caused some danger.
Curious: Immediately after the change, Leverkusen almost increased in the same way as they had taken the lead. This time it was the fourth minute of the second half when Tapsoba played a long ball to Diaby, who this time gave it up to Mitchel Bakker – but the Dutchman was stopped at the last moment. But now the guests were no longer as passive as in the first round and had the events under control much better. But in front of Frimpong’s goal, Bakker was offside (52′) and Diaby hit the post (57′). Only Adli provided the redeeming 2:0.
AWAY WIN!
The #Werkself wins the round of 16 second leg at @Fradi_HU and buys the ticket for the next round. Strong boys! #FTCB04 0:2 | #UEL | #Bayer04 pic.twitter.com/o7YdmKFDwE
— Bayer 04 Leverkusen (@bayer04fussball) March 16, 2023
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