Europa League Leverkusen with Schick goal directly in the round of 16
Victor Boniface (l) gave the Werkself the lead in Sweden. photo
© Adam Ihse/TT News Agency/AP/dpa
Progression was already certain, and now Bayer Leverkusen has already secured group victory. And one game before the end of the group phase. With the best yield of all teams.
And then Patrik Schick also scored: Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen are in a class of their own in Europe this season and are now the best team in the Europa League.
With the 2-0 (1-0) win against Swedish cup winners BK Häcken, coach Xabi Alonso’s team secured early group victory with a B-eleven that had been changed to eight positions after advancing. This ensures direct entry into the round of 16 without having to go through the play-offs against a relegated team from the Champions League.
A particularly nice moment was the goal from striker Patrik Schick, who scored his first goal in 284 days (74th) after a long period of suffering. Victor Boniface took the lead (14th). Bayer is the only team among the 32 participants to have won all five group games. In addition, last year’s semi-finalists celebrated five European Cup victories in a row for the first time in almost 30 years, and there have never been more. The success was the 18th in the 19th competitive game of the season. The groundbreaking home game against Borussia Dortmund is scheduled for Sunday in the Bundesliga. The runners-up are currently ten points behind the Werkself.
Bayer takes the first chance to take the lead
Although the pitch had to be cleared on Wednesday evening after heavy snowfall, the staging of the game was not in jeopardy. At kick-off it wasn’t snowing at minus two degrees. At halftime, the first flakes began to fall again in Gothenburg’s venerable Ullevi Stadium; the pitch became increasingly slippery as the game wore on. The Swedes, whose season ended on November 12th, started bravely and pressed early despite four previous defeats and the sobering 0:4 in the first leg.
Bayer still had the game under control with over 60 percent possession and took advantage of their first chance. After a cross from Bayern loanee Josip Stanisic, Boniface headed in at the far post from four meters. In the Bundesliga, the Nigerian, who was top scorer in the Europa League in the Saint-Gilles jersey last season, has not scored in five games or 449 minutes. In his favorite competition he has now scored in four of five games.
As a result, the Bundesliga team did not shine by any means, only had one chance before the break through Nathan Tella (22nd) and even almost equalized after an uncertainty from Matej Kovar, who replaced regular goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky in every game in the European Cup as before conceded (34th). “We play seriously, but the Swedes also do it well,” said club boss Fernando Carro on RTL during the break.
Alonso continued to distribute match practice. He brought on 18-year-old Noah Mbamba for Boniface at the break or Schick in the 63rd minute, who made the decision again eleven minutes later on an assist from Stanisic.
dpa
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