Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen are close to the quarterfinals

The jump in the 88th minute of Xabi Alonso, coach of Bayer Leverkusenalong with Tapsoba’s 2-0 draw, represents the importance of the second goal against Ferencvaros in the first leg of the Europa League round of 16.

Leverkusen went ahead in the 9th minute, with a goal from Kerem Demirbay; on the edge of a tie in the next course of the match and a relevant win by a difference of two goals, perhaps decisive for the second rivalry in a week in Hungary.

Ferencvaros do not deserve so much punishment. He played to equalize for more than an hour of the match, from when he woke up around minute 20 until he fell asleep again at 89′, until it was 2-0, with Hlozak’s massive free-kick, heavy for its metaphor , for how he dropped between the post and the top corner and for the power with which he hit the post to enable the second action headed by Tapsoba. An important goal.

Because 1-0, in the return to the Puskas Arena in Budapest, did not appear as a marker for calm for Bayer Leverkusen. Neither was the build-up to Thursday’s promise, however much the German team almost always commanded the scoreboard.

Between the lines, with oriented control on his left and a whiplash on his right, Kerem Demirbay made the smallest difference in favor of Bayer Leverkusen, on the verge of minute 9, when the midfielder beat the Hungarian leader in between of merits. of his opponent’s moves and sequence of concessions.

Demirbay hasn’t scored a goal since September 17, when Xabi Alonso still didn’t feel like taking charge at Bayer Leverkusen, when his team was still alive for the Champions League.

The German team has changed from then until now, as well as their claims this season, based on their participation in the Europa League, whose continuation depends on their ability to maintain a 2-0 win in the first leg at the Bay Arena. Budapest remains. There, the Ferencvaros they have won 14 of their last 15 meetings. And they only lost once: on August 9, 1-3 against Qarabag. But the 2-0 widened the scale of their challenge.

Until then, Bayer Leverkusen lived under permanent warning, especially because of the response of his rival in the middle of the first half, when Vecsei’s class passed, first of all, perfect, to overcome several defenders, towards the unchecking of Zachariassen, ended up shooting against the crossbar of his teammate, without the same precision as his midfield teammate. A relief for local fans, dreading a tie.

His effort throughout the match was not enough for the match. Even if his reaction is beyond minute 20. The game then passes at a more balanced pace, with a feeling that he can do it all in the second duel. He fell again after eleven invincible commitments. They also lost Botka for the return, due to a cycle of yellow cards, and Marquinhos suffered an injury, replaced after throwing himself to the ground, before the final 2-0. An extravagant prize for Leverkusen.