Leverkusen Vs Olympiacos: Stalemate enough as leverkusen vs olympiacos earns Leverkusen place in last 16
leverkusen vs olympiacos finished with a goalless second leg at the BayArena that was enough to secure Bayer Leverkusen’s comfortable progress on aggregate. Leading 2-0 from the first leg, Leverkusen advanced to the Champions League last 16 and will face either Arsenal or Bayern Munich next.
Leverkusen Vs Olympiacos match overview
Bayer Leverkusen’s 2-0 advantage from last week’s first leg — a double from forward Patrik Schick in Greece — proved decisive after a second-leg 0-0 draw with Olympiacos. The German side dominated at the BayArena and almost found a breakthrough early and again midway through the second half, but failing to score against Olympiacos for the second time this campaign did not matter for Leverkusen.
Second leg at the BayArena
After easing to victory in Greece six days earlier, Leverkusen picked up where they left off and took control from the first whistle. Kasper Hjulmand’s side could have been ahead within four minutes as Schick glanced a header wide after connecting with Alejandro Grimaldo’s cross. From there it was largely one-way traffic, with chances created but not converted.
Schick and early chances
Patrik Schick’s first-leg brace had already put Leverkusen in a commanding position to reach the last 16 for the second season running and for only the second time since the 2016/17 season. In the second leg Schick later fluffed an attempt to lob the onrushing Konstantinos Tzolakis when presented with another opportunity. Defender Alejandro Grimaldo twice came close: he supplied the early cross for Schick’s header and then struck the crossbar midway through the second half after a surging run into the area.
Olympiacos moments and context
Olympiacos had a rare moment on the front foot when Chiquinho blazed a shot over from the edge of the area that could have halved the aggregate deficit. The Greek side had beaten the 2002 finalists 2-0 on home soil during the league phase, but they were unable to make the most of the moments they created across the tie. Historically, the two clubs have met four times in the competition, with both sides winning two games apiece; the German side’s only win in Germany came in a 2-0 victory in October 2002.
Injury concerns and substitutions
Leverkusen arrived with staff and selection headaches after suffering a damaging 1-0 defeat at Union Berlin at the weekend. Loïc Badé and Malik Tillman both picked up injuries in that Union Berlin match, with the French defender Loïc Badé a certainty to miss out and poised for a month-long absence. Malik Tillman’s ankle issue has thrust his status into doubt; he was fouled early in that game when Union’s Stanley Nsoki was yellow-carded for a studs-up challenge in the 3rd minute. Tillman played on until he was subbed in the 81st minute and was seen limping as he left the stadium.
One manager comment highlighted the uncertainty: “It will be difficult with Malik, ” Kaspar Hjulmand said on Monday. “It hasn’t been fully decided yet, but it doesn’t look very good. The decision will be made tomorrow. ” If the USMNT star is not fit to feature, veteran Jonas Hofmann could work his way into Hjulmand’s frontline, joining last week’s match-winner Schick and Ernest Poku. Goalkeeper Mark Flekken was also unavailable for the hosts, as were attackers Nathan Tella and Eliesse Ben Seghir.
What comes next
Leverkusen will find out whether they will face the Premier League leaders or the reigning Bundesliga champions when the draw for the next round takes place on Friday. The draw follows a campaign in which Leverkusen qualified for the Champions League last 16 in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2015. Match momentum measures the swing of the match by comparing each team’s threat to see who is more likely to score within that minute; the momentum value is the difference between each team’s most dangerous moment, or team threat, in that minute. After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by users.
On the domestic front in the days surrounding the tie, José Luis Mendilibar’s Olympiacos side were at least successful in the Greek Super League at the weekend, beating Panetolikos 2-0, while Leverkusen’s domestic form included the 1-0 loss at Union Berlin and a 1-1 draw with Borussia Mönchengladbach earlier in the run-up to the knockout playoff.
Leverkusen’s progress was sealed by aggregate advantage rather than second-leg scoring, with the tie closing a sequence that left Olympiacos needing a dramatic turnaround to advance and Leverkusen advancing comfortably to the last 16.
