Werkself Review #OLYB04: 'Keep sticking together and perform'

Summary: Plenty of chances, no goals

The hosts began with high and aggressive pressing and forced the first corner of the match inside two minutes, from which they promptly took the lead through Costinha. The Piraeus outfit continued to press strongly after that, which made for a fiery first half. The Werkself, meanwhile, found their way into the contest and Loïc Badé (10'), Lucas Vázquez (16'), Christian Kofane (25', 45') and Alejandro Grimaldo (37', 45') all had good opportunities to equalise. However, it was the clinical hosts who celebrated the next goal, when Mehdi Taremi struck on the counter in first-half stoppage time. It was a similar story after the break, with Leverkusen battling with discipline and commitment but being let down by their finishing and by the impressive Olympiacos goalkeeper. As a result, it finished 2-0.

Reaction: 'We had the opportunities'

Head coach Kasper Hjulmand said after the final whistle: "After conceding in the second minute, I saw 10 minutes that weren't as good from my team. After that, though, it got better and better and we created some big chances. We tried everything again in the second half and we had the opportunities. We must win [the final game] now. We can do it, we have to keep sticking together and perform at our best."

Grimaldo told Werkself-TV: "We made too many mistakes. It's the Champions League, it's decided by little details. We didn't take our chances, it wasn't enough from us." Aleix Garcia gave a similar assessment: "We're really disappointed because we went into this game with a lot of confidence. We can't keep conceding such early goals, it's hard to recover from that in the Champions League. We applied pressure during the game and created lots of chances. We have to process and analyse this." Vázquez highlighted: "It wasn't good enough today. It's clear that we and I have to keep working. We need to raise our level."

What the papers say: 'Failed to take chances'

kicker wrote: "Bayer Leverkusen put in a decent performance for the most part at Olympiacos, but failed to take their chances." Meanwhile, Bild reported: "Bayer 04 lose 2-0 in the cauldron of Piraeus and are left sweating over their progress!" Rheinische Post went with a similar headline: "Bayer miss first opportunity" [to qualify], continuing: "The Werkself were wasteful with their chances in the first half at Olympiacos and lost 2-0. Next week they face a decisive match against Villarreal."

Personnel: Debut and returns to starting XI

Despite the disappointing outcome, a special mention goes to Janis Blaswich, who made his first ever start for Bayer 04 as well as his Champions League debut for the club. Vázquez, meanwhile, returned to the starting XI for the first time since 4 October 2025 (against Union Berlin), having been building up his minutes after his injury.

Garcia played 120 passes in the game, the most for the Werkself (ahead of Badé with 93). It's only the second time that a Leverkusen player has made 120 passes or more in a UCL fixture.

Statistics: Superior in numbers

The Werkself recorded over 60 percent possession in the first half, and more than 70 percent overall. With 17 shots on goal, Hjulmand's side also dominated in this category. Nevertheless, they were 2-0 down at half-time because Olympiacos scored from their only two efforts. Incidentally, the Greek champions had their final shot in the 63rd minute, after which only the Werkself went for goal. In further proof of their greater share of the play, Bayer 04 played 738 passes, a new high for the club in this Champions League campaign,

Up next: Home league game against Bremen

The fixtures continue to come thick and fast with a home meeting against SV Werder Bremen on Bundesliga Matchday 19 this Saturday, 24 January (kick-off 15:30 CET).