Bayer Leverkusen struggled in the first leg of the Europa League quarter-finals. Ultimately, it was once again Florian Wirtz who saved the Werkself from defeat against Union Saint-Gilloise.
After a strenuous 90 minutes, he had to Bayer Leverkusen be content with a 1: 1 (0: 0) on Thursday evening. Although the Werkself were clearly trying, they were often lacking conviction in front of the goal.
Nevertheless, the Bayer fans, who got the team in the mood for the game with pyrotechnics and songs when the bus arrived, can still have legitimate hopes of the first European semi-final since 2002.
Alonso with just one change
With the last seven competitive wins in a row, Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso had little reason to change. The only change compared to the 3-1 win against Eintracht Frankfurt: Mitchel Bakker replaced Odilon Kossounou.
The first chance of the game went to the Werkself. The in-form Florian Wirtz (7th) left several opponents standing with a feint and finally shot from around 16 meters. His shot just missed the goal.
However, it was to remain the only real option for some time. Both teams hardly left any space and wore themselves out in numerous duels.
Opportunities on both sides
After almost half an hour, the game picked up speed. First, Victor Boniface prevailed against two defenders, but failed from a tight angle by Lukáš Hrádecký, who dived well. Ismaël Kandouss put the following corner on the crossbar.
At the other end, a shot from 20 yards by Diaby landed on the side netting. Bayer’s biggest chance came from Hincapie, who benefited from a positional mistake by Moris five minutes before the break. The defender just headed wide in front of the goal.
In added time in the first half, Diaby also had another opportunity. However, the striker cannot gild Adli’s strong solo.
Boniface scores for the Belgians
In the past few weeks it was the Werkself who impressed with their merciless efficiency, but this time Belgium, second in the table, showed this quality. Boniface gave the visitors the lead in the 51st minute. Hardly pressed, the attacker flicked the ball into the right corner.
Bayer was only briefly shocked and responded with numerous storm runs. But the Bundesliga side’s task proved increasingly difficult as Saint-Gilloise continued to defend with great discipline and compactness. However, practically nothing went forward for the Belgians.
Wirtz saves Bayer the draw
That should still pay off in the end. After Frimpong left the chance to equalize open in front of the goal, Wirtz scored in the 83rd minute to equalize. The ten took a deduction from Azmoun directly and pushed the ball into the far corner.
If Leverkusen can keep the momentum of the last 40 minutes in the second leg, the Bundesliga club still has every chance of making it into a European semi-final for the fourth time after 1988, 1995 and 2002. The quarter-final second leg will kick off next Thursday.
