Werkself seal play-off spot with 3-0 win against Villarreal

Head coach Kasper Hjulmand made two changes to his starting XI for the final matchday of the UCL league phase compared to the 1-0 home win against Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga: Malik Tillman and Ezequiel Fernández came into the starting line-up for Ernest Poku and Jonas Hofmann. Fernández started alongside Aleix Garcia in a dual holding midfield role, while Ibrahim Maza was moved up to left attacking midfield.

Bayer 04 dominate– Tillman nets brace

It was Maza who initiated the first attacking endeavours of the Werkself, who were dominant from the outset, and after eleven minutes he put his first shot wide of the Spanish goal. However, it was his team-mate on the other side who opened the scoring a minute later: USA international Tillman anticipated an attempted clearance from hesitant Villarreal goalkeeper Arnau Tenas and his block saw the ball go straight into the net (12'). Leverkusen were constantly on the lookout for mistakes in the opposition defence, but Loïc Badé (19) and Tillman again failed to convert them into goals, as did the busy Maza, whose shot rebounded off the post onto Tenas' back and then onto the crossbar (26). Tillman was more successful again in the 35th minute, set up by a header from Patrik Schick on the edge of the penalty area, he hammered it straight into the net to make it 2-0. The Black and Reds went into half-time with over 60 per cent possession and two goals to the good.

Grimaldo scores - Tapsoba makes Comeback

Bayer 04 also started the second half with a lot of control of the game. Although it took a little over ten minutes for the first chance, it was immediately crowned with success: A great assist from Lucas Vázquez was finished off by Alejandro Grimaldo at the far post with a volley to make it 3-0 (57'). Just after the hour mark, the previously unoccupied Janis Blaswich had the chance to make a save from Nicolas Pépé's shot. That remained Blaswich's only test of the evening because the Werkself midfield around substitute Exequiel Palacios, who was playing his first UCL game of the season, gave the Yellow Submarine attack no breathing space with their ruthless passing. But the Black and Red attack also shifted down a few gears apart from a Poku long-range effort (85') - so the returning Edmond Tapsoba and his team ended up with a 3-0 home win and a well-deserved place in the Champions League play-off round.

coming up: Play-off draw on friday

Which team the Werkself will face in the play-offs for a place in the last 16 in the Champions League will be decided in on Friday, 30 January, from 12: 00 CET. It will be one of the two teams in 17th and 18th place in the league table: Olympiacos and Borussia Dortmund. The first leg will be played away on 17 or 18 February, with the second leg taking place on 24 or 25 February at the BayArena.

The Werkself have another big game coming up in the Bundesliga: On Saturday, 31 January (kick-off: 15:30 CET), Leverkusen are away to Eintracht Frankfurt. Anyone who does not yet have tickets and would like to support Hjulmand's team in Frankfurt can apply for tickets HERE. On the following Tuesday, 3 February, Leverkusen face FC St. Pauli at the BayArena for a place in the semi-finals of the DFB Pokal with the kick-off at 20:45 CET.

Match highlights:

Match stats:

Bayer 04: Blaswich - Quansah, Andrich, Badé - Vázquez (Arthur 62’), Fernández, Garcia (Palacios 70’), Grimaldo (Tapsoba 89’) - Tillman, Maza (Poku 70’) - Schick (Kofane 62’)

Villarreal: Tenas - Navarro, Rafa Marín, Renato Veiga, Cardona - Buchanan (López 46’), Comesaña (Gueye 82’), Partey (Mikautadze 46’), Alassane (Parejo 65’) - Oluwaseyi, Pépé (Budesca 69’)

Goals: 1-0 Tillman (12'), 2-0 Tillman (35'), 3-0 Grimaldo (57')

Yellow cards: Navarro, Rafa Marín, Pépé

Referee: Espen Eskås (Norway)

Attendance: 30,210 (sold out) at the BayArena