40
21:42
After a collision, Frimpong remains on the ground. But after a short treatment, the full-back appears to be on the mend. Good news for Leverkusen, because the Dutchman is extremely important for the Werkself.
38
21:41
Leverkusen have been more active for a few minutes, but mostly 15 meters before the sixteenth end. The Monegasque are very compact and leave little space for the attackers of the hosts.
35
21:38
Out of nowhere comes an amazing pass from Diaby in the sixteen. He is looking for Amiri on the second post from the right half field. His pass goes through and would come perfectly on the foot of his teammate. But Nübel is there, rushes out of the box and punches the ball away in front of Amiri. Perhaps this scene will give the hosts a boost.
33
21:36
It’s very tough at this stage. Leverkusen tries to raise their attacks, Monaco lets the home side do their thing and waits for the next counterattack. Xabi Alonso also looks frustrated on the touchline with the current course of the game.
31
21:33
Tapsoba tries to assert himself in the opponent’s half and breaks through the first chain. But then he stands there and can’t find a passing station because there’s simply no movement in the Leverkusen offensive. Thus, the central defender breaks off the attack again.
28
21:31
After almost 30 minutes, the Leverkusen game looks very static. Not much goes forward except one or two long-range shots. But the home side is missing the playfulness so far tonight. The guests, on the other hand, combine well and trust in their match plan, which has worked well so far.
25
21:27
Adam Hložek takes heart. The young attacker conquers the ball on the left side and leaves two opponents standing. He pulls into the middle and just holds onto it. His conclusion from 23 meters looks dangerous, but Nübel defuses the whole thing very safely and holds the ball.
24
21:26
Again the ASM enters the sixteen, again Golovin is the protagonist of this scene. This time he plays the one-two in the sixteen with Embolo. The pass from the former Gladbacher is difficult to process, but Golovin takes the pill down and pulls from a half-right position from ten meters. However, he fails to finish and Hrádecký holds on to the ball.
21:25
Bayer Leverkusen giant buck in the video
21
21:24
Next big chance for Monaco! The guests are clearly the better team now. The Monegasques get far too much space and can play it nicely in midfield. Golovin and Minamino combine with a one-two up to the sixteen. Golovin puts through to Embolo, who pulls from the inside right almost 14 meters in front of the box. His powerful right-footed shot just misses the post. The 0:2 is in the air here.
19
21:22
The odd own goal still seems to be stuck in the bones of the Leverkusen team. Tah plays the ball into the foot of Breel Embolo on the halfway line. The attacker grabs the ball and goes to the sixteen. He waits for Minamino to come in and tries a pass down the lane. But Hincapié is there in time and can iron out his colleague’s mistake.
16
21:18
Of course it’s the ideal starting position for Monaco, who specialize in counterattacking. This early lead allows them to demonstrate their quick switching skills.
14
21:16
Yellow card for Edmond Tapsoba (Bayer Leverkusen)
It’s not the home side’s early days. Tapsoba is clearly too late against Embolo and gets the early warning. Now he has to be careful for 75 minutes.
14
21:15
After conceding, both Lukáš Hrádecký and Xabi Alonso complained that Embolo had fouled them. But the Swiss attacker only uses his body and the shove is simply not punishable.
12.
21:14
After this incredible goal, the home team is trying to find an answer. Diaby is staged on the left and puts the ball in the sixteen. From an acute angle, he stops from eight yards, but Nübel is safe and fends off the ball into the goal.
9.
21:10
Tooor for AS Monaco, 0: 1 by Lukáš Hrádecký (own goal)
That is impossible! What a mistake by Lukáš Hrádecký. In a period of no pressure, Tah plays the ball back to his keeper. Hrádecký puts the ball in his own five and underestimates the pressure from Embolo. The Finn takes his time and is thrown out of step by Embolo’s physical effort. As a result, he trips the ball that rolls over his own goal line. It’s a huge blunder and the goal was only scored by the Leverkusen goalkeeper.
7.
21:09
Diaby provides a first conclusion. From the second row, the Frenchman gains possession of the ball in a half-left position. He has two or three meters of space and starts at the end. However, his low shot from 25 meters is too central and Nübel has no problems in the guests’ box.
5.
21:07
It’s a rather quiet start on both sides. The teams try to bring calm into their game and seize possession of the ball. The initial momentum has therefore fizzled out for the time being.
3.
21:05
The Leverkusen first let the ball run and look for their gap. A lot goes through Wirtz as a ball distributor, who often drops in midfield to find an alley. However, so far without success.
1.
21:03
The ball rolls and there is an instant tempo in the match. Monaco’s high pass to the top is intercepted and the Werkself do it quickly down the right flank. Diaby goes into a sprint duel, but stumbles the ball on the right touchline and there is a throw-in.
20:59
Referee Orel Grinfeld leads both teams onto the pitch of the BayArena. The captains line up to choose their place and this top duel in the Europa League can start right away. We look forward to an exciting 90 minutes!
20:51
In total, both teams met six times, so far with advantages on the part of the guests. Leverkusen could only win one game. In the 2016/17 season, the Werkself beat AS Monaco 3-0 in the group stage of the Champions League. The games before that ended in a draw twice and the Monegasques won three times. Today the hosts can correct this statistic a bit.
20:40
There is definitely a small surprise for the guests. The back four and the midfield will remain in place for the time being. But a new double leadership starts today. Breel Embolo and Takumi Minamino are in the starting lineup. For Ben Seghir and Ben Yedder initially sit on the bench. A small surprise, especially for the latter, who was able to decide the game against Paris at the weekend with his double pack.
20:34
The line-ups each show two changes in the starting formations of the teams. At Leverkusen, Alonso is likely to opt for a back four. As a result, Frimpong moves a little further back to the right-back position. Sinkgraven, who is not registered for the Europa League, is missing on the left. A three-man midfield is formed from Amiri, Palacios and Andrich. Demirbay initially only sits on the bench. The trio of Diaby, Wirtz and Hložek, which worked brilliantly against Hoffenheim, will remain in place for the time being.
20:21
Things didn’t go too well for the guests in the Europa League. In a group with Ferencvárosi TC, Trabzonspor AŞ and FK Crvena zvezda, Les Monegasques went into Group H as the clear favorites. But in the end they only got second place with ten points, because Ferencvárosi TC prevailed in the end due to the direct comparison. So Monaco has to get into this playoff round and is up against a third-placed team in the Champions League, in this case Bayer 04 Leverkusen.
20:13
Because the opponent could be unpleasant tonight. AS Monaco suffered only one defeat in the 2023 calendar year and are coming to Leverkusen with three wins behind them. Last weekend, the Monegasques even beat first-placed Paris St. Germain impressively 3-1. In the league, Monaco are in a solid third place, just two points behind Marseille. So it could be an exciting match today, because AS Monaco are in outstanding form.
19:58
Bayer Leverkusen is currently in a constant ups and downs in the Bundesliga. The Werkself are currently in eighth place in the table and are trying to keep up with the upper ranks. After losing two league games against Dortmund and Augsburg, the Leverkusen team managed an important win at the weekend. Bayer won 3-1 in Sinsheim against a weak Hoffenheim team and can still go into this important playoff game with confidence. Tonight it is important to call up all the qualities again to put yourself in a good starting position for the second leg next week.
19:45
It wasn’t enough for Bayer in the Champions League. In a tricky Group B with Bruges, Porto and Atletico Madrid, Leverkusen had to settle for third place and were able to secure their place in a European competition. The group had a few surprises in store. Leverkusen collected four of their five points against the favored Madrilenians, who also had to say goodbye to the European competitions with five points due to the worse direct comparison. The Werkself scored the last point on the last matchday in a 0-0 draw in Bruges, which was enough to qualify for the Europa League play-offs.
19:37
Hello and welcome to the Europa League cracker between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and AS Monaco. The ball will start rolling in the BayArena at 9 p.m. The live ticker for this match starts right before the kick-off.
11:54
The German Monaco regulars’ table