Leverkusen - Olympiacos stalemate secures Leverkusen’s last-16 berth and shifts focus to Arsenal or Bayern

Here’s the part that matters: the 0-0 draw at the BayArena left Bayer Leverkusen through to the Champions League last 16, and that advancement immediately changes what the club, its players and the next opponent must manage. Leverkusen - Olympiacos was enough to protect a 2-0 first-leg lead, handing Leverkusen progression and setting up a last-16 clash with either Arsenal or Bayern Munich.

Immediate impact on Leverkusen’s season, squad and the draw

Progress to the last 16 relieves short-term pressure on the team and alters preparation priorities: the club can refocus on recovery and selection for the knockout phase, while the potential opponents — Arsenal or Bayern Munich — now have one confirmed opponent to plan for. The draw to determine whether Leverkusen meets the Premier League leaders or the reigning Bundesliga champions will take place on Friday.

Leverkusen - Olympiacos: match facts and pivotal moments

Leverkusen entered the second leg holding a 2-0 lead from the opening match. The home game finished 0-0, which was sufficient for Leverkusen to win the tie 2-0 on aggregate and advance. The German side dominated large spells at the BayArena, with Alejandro Grimaldo striking the crossbar midway through the second half — the clearest late chance for the hosts. Early in the match Patrik Schick came close with a glancing header from a Grimaldo cross and had another effort that tried to lob the onrushing goalkeeper, Konstantinos Tzolakis, but missed the target.

Olympiacos managed only rare moments in the final third; one such moment saw Chiquinho blaze a shot over the bar. Overall the visitors were energetic but struggled to convert pressure into goals. The match momentum metric — which measures comparative threat minute-by-minute to indicate who is more likely to score in any given minute — showed Leverkusen carrying more danger across the tie. After the opportunity to rate players closed, the score displayed represented the average of user submissions.

Availability, knocks and selection angles that influenced both legs

Injuries and absences shaped the tie. Leverkusen were without goalkeeper Mark Flekken and attackers Nathan Tella and Eliesse Ben Seghir. Loïc Badé picked up an injury that makes him certain to miss action and is poised for a month-long absence; Malik Tillman suffered an ankle issue that left his status in doubt. A named USMNT star’s fitness was uncertain for selection; if that player cannot feature, veteran Jonas Hofmann was positioned as a likely option to join Patrik Schick and Ernest Poku in the frontline. Late in the home game right-back Lucas Vazquez limped off.

Olympiacos rested six starters in their domestic match on Saturday in an attempt to prioritise qualification for the Champions League last 16.

What’s easy to miss is that squad management decisions in the domestic weekend directly influenced both teams’ available resources for this tie and therefore the way the two legs played out.

Key timeline and forward signal

• Last week / opening leg: Leverkusen won away, 2-0, with Patrik Schick scoring twice in three minutes.
• Six days later: Leverkusen hosted Olympiacos and the match finished 0-0, securing a 2-0 aggregate win.
• Saturday (domestic weekend): Olympiacos rested six starters; Leverkusen suffered a 1-0 defeat at Union Berlin.
• Friday: the draw will determine whether Leverkusen faces Arsenal or Bayern Munich in the last 16.
• Forward signal: confirmation of opponent and the fitness updates for injured players will be the clearest indicators of how Leverkusen approaches the knockout tie.

Historical notes, aggregate record and a couple of unresolved details

Bayer Leverkusen and Olympiacos have met four times in the Champions League; each side has won twice, and the German side’s sole home win in that head-to-head happened in October 2002 by a 2-0 scoreline. The context also contains two different notes on Leverkusen’s recent records: one statement says this progression is the club’s second time reaching the last 16 since the 2016/17 season, while another describes it as the first time Leverkusen made it through a two-legged Champions League knockout tie since they reached the final in 2002; this is unclear in the provided context and remains unresolved here.

Additional context: Olympiacos have not won a two-legged tie in this competition since the first round of the 1983–84 European Cup, and they last reached the Champions League last 16 in 2013–14 when they were narrowly eliminated thereafter. The club’s owner, Evangelos Marinakis, promised an unprecedented financial bonus for reaching the last 16.

The real question now is how Leverkusen will repair form after a sluggish home performance, while managing injuries ahead of the draw and the knockout phase.

Patrik Schick’s decisive double in the opening leg remains the decisive match fact that carried Leverkusen through; failing to score in the second leg did not alter the aggregate outcome.