Bayer Leverkusen, coached by Xabi Alonso, achieved their goal this Thursday: he returned from his tie against Monaco (who beat him in the first leg 3-2) and, thanks to his victory on penalties at the Louis II stadium (3-5 after -3), qualified for in the round of 16 Europa League final. With a great Florian Wirtz, goal and assist. Eliot Matazo missed the only maximum penalty did not transform in the batch, which meant goodbye to Monaco.
The return between the German team (10th in the Bundesliga table) and the Monegasque (3rd in Ligue 1) was very entertaining, with goals and many chances. And very even. In the end, Philippe Clement’s was dropped of this Europa League, as Bayer Leverkusen changed all their penalties.
Florian Wirtz opened the scoring, putting Bayer Leverkusen ahead in the 13th minute when he took advantage of a loose ball left by Monaco goalkeeper Alexander Nübel after a play by Jeremie Frimpong. But it didn’t take long for the Principality team to level the scores when former Sevilla player Ben Yedder converted Edmond Tapsoba’s Ben Seghir penalty. It is 19′.
Bayer Leverkusen wants to enter the round of 16 and Exequiel Palacios put Xabi Alonso’s team ahead again on 21′ with a left-footed shot. Two very powerful blows for Monaco. Nübel had to make a good save before a good shot from Palacios himself.
Already in the second part, Amine Adli succeeded with a header, taking advantage of a great cross from Wirtz, 1-3, which classified Leverkusen. But Monaco would not give up, with Ben Yedder crashing the ball over the crossbar. Breel Embolo scored in the 84′, taking advantage of the ball from Krepin Diatta. The Europa League playoff is again, with the same result as in the first leg, 2-3.
In added time, Monaco’s best chance came to Kevin Volland, but Lukas Hradecky blocked the goal. In the batch, only Matazo failed and Clement’s was left in the second round.
penalty shootout
0-1, Azmoun, goal
1-1, Disasi, goal
1-2, Amiri, goal
1-2, slam, hit the crossbar
1-3, Tapsoba, goal
2-3, plunger, goal
2-4, Schick, goal
3-4, Volland, goal
3-5, Diaby, goal
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
