Head coach Xabi Alonso made one change from the line-up in the 3-1 home win against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga: Piero Hincapie moved back from the left flank into defence to replace Odilon Kossounou with Mitchel Bakker starting on the left wing in place of Hincapie.
The visitors from Union Saint-Gilloise tried to disrupt the Leverkusen defence in build-up play from the first minute. However, the hosts always remained tight on their opponents and looked to get forward quickly. Possession again and again went to Bayer 04. The first shot from the Werkself at the goal of USG keeper Anthony Moris posed a threat (8'): Florian Wirtz was picked out with a long ball from Amine Adli and he dribbled past several opponents before attempting to shoot from the edge of the box but his low shot went just wide of the right-hand post. The team under head coach Alonso dominated in the following minutes and controlled the game. The Black and Reds again and again combined well in front of the Belgian goal but they were unable to make the final pass up to that point.
The Belgian side were undaunted and had their best chance on the half-hour mark: Victor Boniface broke down the left flank beating Jeremie Frimpong and Edmond Tapsoba. Lukas Hradecky saw his first action as he saved a low shot heading for the far corner. The resulting corner from Teddy Teuma was diverted towards goal by Jonathan Tah ended up on the crossbar (29'). Then there were chances for both sides: Moussa Diaby tried a long-range effort a minute later and five minutes before half-time Wirtz set up teammate Hincapie but the header from the Ecuadorian only hit the side netting (40'). The two sides went into half-time with the scoreline at 0-0.
The visitors made a flying start to the second half: Boniface gained possession on the left flank and he succeeded in shooting into the far corner of the net to give Saint-Gilloise a 1-0 lead (51'). The visitors appeared to have the upper hand with the Belgians organised in defence after taking the lead as they again and again broke down the Leverkusen attacks and forced the hosts into misplaced passes. The Werkself found it difficult to create promising opportunities but remained committed to the task. The Black and Reds approach the opposition goal again and again as the game went on. The best chances fell to Hincapie (66') as well as Frimpong with headers but both went over the bar (78').
The efforts of the Werkself were finally rewarded with eight minutes to play: Substitute Sardar Azmoun played the ball back to Wirtz on the edge of the box and the 19-year-old hit a shot into the bottom right corner to deservedly level at 1-1. The Werkself pressed for the winner in added time but failed to find the back of the net. The match ended in a 1-1 draw. Leverkusen remain unbeaten after a run of seven wins on the bounce.
The Werkself return to league action on Sunday 16 April: Leverkusen are away to VfL Wolfsburg at the Volkswagen Arena with the kick-off at 19.30 CEST. The second leg of the quarter-final in the Europa League at Union Saint-Gilloise is in exactly seven days time on Thursday 20 April. The kick-off at the Lotto Park in Belgium is at 21.00 CEST.
Match stats:
Bayer 04: Hradecky – Tapsoba, Tah, Hincapie - Frimpong, Palacios (Demirbay 46’), Andrich, Bakker - Diaby ( Hlozek 86’), Wirtz - Adli (Azmoun 67’)
Saint-Gilloise: Moris – Nieuwkoop, Kandouss, Burgess, Van Der Heyden - Amani, Lynen (El Azzouzi 80’), Lapoussin - Vertessen (Puertas 75’), Teuma, Boniface (Nilsson 89’)
Goals: 0-1 Boniface (51’), 1-1 Wirtz (82’)
Booked: Hincapie – Van Der Heyden, Lapoussin, Moris
Referee: Ivan Kruzliak (Slovakia)
Attendance: 30,210 (sold out) at the BayArena
With seven points, Mainz 05 are currently joint seventh, level on points with sixth-placed Bayer 04. In today’s head-to-head clash (kick-off: 15:30 CEST), the Werkself must be particularly wary of the clinical Mainz strike duo. For Leverkusen fans who have left it to the last minute, there are still a few tickets available from the matchday ticket office. Those following the Black and Reds from home, on the other hand, have a choice: RTL is broadcasting the match on free-to-air TV, and Werkself Radio is also offering the expert commentary of former Bayer 04 player Falko Götz. Today’s matchday news.
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