38.
19:26
Bayer’s attack efforts have so far been completely fruitless. The Azerbaijanis are very compact.
36.
19:23
That has to be 2-0! Qarabağ countered quickly after winning the ball in their own half. Juninho goes through to the baseline on the left and chips the ball to the far post. Leandro Andrade is completely free there, but heads the ball over Kovář’s box from four meters and at a somewhat acute angle.
33.
7:19 p.m
The home team defended in an extremely disciplined manner and was permanently on the heels of the Leverkusen offensive players. They are still waiting for their first real chance to score.
30.
19:17
Bayer loses the ball again in the build-up game, Leandro Andrade has space twelve meters in front of the goal, but takes too long to process the ball. Kossounou blocks the shot at the last moment.
27.
7:16 p.m
The many changes are clearly noticeable at Leverkusen, the lead for the Azerbaijanis is absolutely fine.
26.
19:11
Tooor for Qarabağ FK, 1-0 by Yassine Benzia
Qarabağ leads! And that’s completely deserved: Juninho steals the ball from Tah in the build-up play near the halfway line and picks up the pace. Once in the penalty area, he passes it perfectly back to Benzia, who welds the ball just under the crossbar from a twelve-meter position on the left.
25.
19:11
Post! After the corner, the ball lands with Janković in the backcourt, who pulls it straight on. The ball hits the right post off the back of a teammate. Kossounou stops Benzia’s follow-up shot at the last moment. Lucky for Leverkusen!
24.
19:11
Leverkusen has to be careful! Juninho has space on the left during a counterattack and is not really attacked by Tah. The Brazilian moves into the middle and flicks the ball towards the far corner, Kovář parries well for a corner.
22.
7:08 p.m
Vešović gives the ball sharply inside after a nice shift from the right edge of the penalty area, Tapsoba clears it in the six-yard box.
20.
7:07 p.m
Bayer’s first shot is a long-range shot from Hložek, which, with a slight deflection from 20 meters, goes past the goal of ex-Leverkusen player Lunev one meter to the right. Before that, Adli was already offside.
18.
7:05 p.m
The Werkself have some space on the left side. Adli sends Grimaldo to the outside lane, who looks for Borja Iglesias directly at the five-pointer. Hüseynov gets in front of the Spanish attacker and clears.
16.
7:03 p.m
Juninho has to be careful when he hits Andrich slightly from behind. Leverkusen otherwise managed to calm the game down.
12.
18:58
Qarabağ continues to sound the alarm and throws himself passionately into the duels. A Vešović cross from the right heads Tah out of the danger zone.
10.
18:56
Janković tries a low left-footed shot from 20 meters to the left, but it is too out of place and no problem for Kovář.
8th.
18:54
Yellow card for Juninho (Qarabağ FK)
The Brazilian goes to work against Palacios with over-motivation and clears him in his own half. This results in an early yellow card.
7.
18:54
Leverkusen frees themselves from the initial pressure and gains some possession of the ball themselves. The Azerbaijani fans can be heard loudly and celebrate every ball they win. The people from Leverkusen who traveled with us can also be heard.
4.
6:50 p.m
The home team starts with a lot of energy and self-confidence and determines the initial phase of this encounter.
2.
6:49 p.m
Juninho fuels his way on the left side, passes Tella and looks for Benzia in the middle. Grimaldo happily clears something to the corner.
1.
6:47 p.m
The French referee cleared the game and Qarabağ allowed the ball to run through his own ranks.
1.
6:46 p.m
Game start
18:42
The referee team comes from France: Benoît Bastien leads the game and is assisted by Hicham Zakrani and Aurélien Berthomieu. It’s about to start in the pouring rain at the Tofiq Bahramov Stadium. Have fun!
18:42
Alonso emphasized that there are now “different signs than in the group phase,” but that “it is an advantage to know the opponent.” Therefore, the Bayer coach is resting a number of regular players and bringing them 2-0 in Cologne a total of eight times. Only Tah, Grimaldo and Andrich start today, otherwise the rotation machine spins Kovář, Tapsoba, Kossounou, Palacios, Tella, Adli, Borja Iglesias and Hložek into the starting eleven. Hrádecký, Hincapié, Hofmann, Stanišić, Frimpong, Wirtz, Xhaka and Schick initially take a seat on the bench.
6:30 p.m
Qurbanov changes his starting eleven in one position compared to the 4-1 win at Neftçi Baku: The young striker Axundzadə initially takes a seat on the bench, but the Brazilian Juninho starts. In the last meeting with Bayer, Medina (bench), Cəfərquliyev and Júlio Romão (both not in the squad) were also in the starting line-up.
6:20 p.m
Leverkusen is still on the hunt for a record and extended its unbeaten streak to 34 games with a 2-0 win in Cologne on Sunday. In the Bundesliga, Bayer is now ten points ahead of series champions Bayern Munich at the top of the table and is well on its way to winning the first championship title in the club’s history. The Werkself finished the group phase with Qarabağ, Häcken and Molde just as confidently with six wins in six games. So the Leverkusen team will of course go into this duel as the big favorites.
6:10 p.m
The Azerbaijani series champions – nine of the last ten championship titles have gone to Qarabağ – are dominating the league again this year and are a whopping 23 points ahead of second-placed Sabail FK. As early as next Sunday, the Baku-based club could secure the championship title with a point win against Zira FK – 10 game days before the end of the season. In the playoffs of the Europa League, head coach Qurbanov’s team surprisingly beat Sporting Braga in extra time in two spectacular games when they were outnumbered.
6:01 p.m
Almost four months after the game in the group phase, the leaders of the Azerbaijani Premier League, Qarabağ Ağdam, and the league leaders of the Bundesliga, Bayer Leverkusen, will meet again in the round of 16. At that time it was a tough affair for the Werkself in Azerbaijan, which was only redeemed by a penalty from Boniface in the fourth minute of added time. The Alonso team confidently won the group game in front of their home crowd 5-1.
5:46 p.m
Welcome to the first leg of the round of 16 in the Europa League between Qarabağ Ağdam and Bayer Leverkusen! Kick-off in Baku is at 6:45 p.m.