Leverkusen Secures Crucial Champions League Victory Against Olympiacos

omidbasir- Bayer Leverkusen faced a challenging tie against Greek champions Olympiacos in the Champions League knockout play-off round this season. Finishing 16th in the league phase, Die Werkself traveled to Piraeus for the first leg, with the return fixture scheduled at the BayArena for the following week.

Interestingly, this matchup occurred less than a month ago, during which the 2024 Conference League winners emerged victorious with a 2-0 scoreline. Since that defeat, however, Kasper Hjulmand’s squad has displayed excellent form, remaining unbeaten in their last six matches, notably securing victories against Villarreal and Eintracht Frankfurt.

As the season progresses into a crucial phase, featuring 11 games in just five weeks, Hjulmand retained the same starting eleven that achieved a 4-0 victory over St. Pauli last weekend.

The hosts began the match on the front foot, although they failed to pose a genuine threat to Janis Blaswich’s goal. It wasn’t long before Leverkusen began to assert themselves, with Patrick Schick and Ernest Poku both squandering opportunities shortly after the 15-minute mark.

After a long-range attempt from Gelson Martins was expertly saved by Blaswich, the visitors continued to press forward, only to be denied an opening goal by Olympiacos goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis, who brilliantly tipped Ibrahim Maza’s close-range volley over the bar.

Leverkusen should have taken the lead moments later when Poku was set through on goal by Maza; however, in a one-on-one situation against Tzolakis, the Dutchman shot wide.

Following a couple of lengthy stoppages due to a collision between Lorenzo Pirola and Panagiotis Retsos, Olympiacos forward Ayoub El Kaabi appeared to have scored from Rodinei’s free-kick. However, the goal was ruled offside after the ball had touched Mehdi Taremi, providing a significant let-off for Leverkusen as they entered halftime at 0-0.

After missing several chances in the first half, Leverkusen broke the deadlock on the hour mark. Poku set up Schick, who made no mistake in finding the back of the net past Tzolakis.

Almost immediately, Schick added a second goal, leaping to head in from an Alejandro Grimaldo corner.

The remainder of the game saw little notable action, with Janis Blaswich rarely troubled by the Olympiacos attack, aside from a speculative effort from wing-back Rodinei.

After a first half that could have gone either way, Leverkusen demonstrated their strength in the second half, achieving the club’s first knockout stage away win in the Champions League. Taking a two-goal advantage back to Germany was a well-deserved outcome, as the hosts struggled to mount a challenge following Schick’s opener.

Player Ratings: Janis Blaswich (6), Jarell Quansah (6), Robert Andrich (6), Edmond Tapsoba (7), Lucas Vázquez (6), Exequiel Palacios (7), Aleix García (6), Alejandro Grimaldo (6), Ibrahim Maza (6), Ernest Poku (5), Patrick Schick (8).

Substitutes: Malick Tillman (6), Martin Terrier (6), Arthur (6), Ezequiel Fernández (-), Christian Kofane (-).

With Die Werkself struggling offensively in the first half, the Czech forward stepped up to score a brace, securing the victory—and likely the tie—for his team. Schick, who could have completed a hat-trick, missed another chance in both halves.