Bayer Leverkusen did not come to this Champions League as an extra and they make it clear. He signed his second victory and this one has merit, while Boniface imposed the law of Xabi Alonso against Milan, giving the Germans a narrow victory (1-0).
It was not one of the most attractive duels, but the German team played with a lot of poise and personality. Some people, when they jump to Europe, change their way of playing but this is not the case of Xabi Alonso, who remains true to his idea supported by the generational talent of Florian Wirtz, who is a pleasure to watch. Bay Arena. His finesse was key throughout the game, when Milan decided to defend in their own half or when they decided to open themselves up more.
The game lacks some dynamism in its first phase. Paulo Fonseca showed respect and wanted to take the counterattack with the power of Leao and Pulisic, but he had no choice as Leverkusen hit back quickly and, if not, successfully retreated. Boniface was responsible for the victory, but had to score twice. The first is not worth it. Frimpong crossed and the Nigerian finished, but the Dutch assistant was offside.
There is almost no trace of Milan in the Hradecky area. His first shot didn’t come until about half an hour later. And the movie didn’t change much in the second half.
This time, Boniface smiled. Grimaldo ventured inside, entered space and spurred behind it a genius that Frimpong failed to exploit against Maignan. However, Leverkusen’s ‘killer’ smelled blood and collected the rebound to score at will (51′). So, Milan had to stretch a bit more to find the tie, although the second one was closer.
Apart from a shot by Reinjders that was well saved by Hradecky, the clearest chance was Bayer’s. With Morata on the field, and almost without participation, the attacks in space by Alonso’s men were poisonous but Frimpong, once again, did not know how to capitalize on a gift from Wirtz. And they almost made it pay, the woodwork avoided it, deflecting Theo Hernández’s shot which Andrich deflected as Morata missed the rebound. Milan ended up like this, attacking the rival field, but lacking ideas and time they couldn’t do it.
match lineup
1
30
20
3
4
12
34
24
22
21
10
16
22
19
8
46
23
11
29
90
14
10
BayArena
Mike Maignan16
73′
Emerson Royal22
88′
Theo Hernandez19
Ruben Loftus-Cheek8
Matteo Gabbia46
Come on Tomori23
94′
Christian Pulisic11
78′
7′
74′
Youssouf Fofana29
20′
50′
74′
Tammy Abraham90
61′
81′
Tijjani Reijnders14
88′
Rafael Leao10
Replacements
Lapo Nava69
Lorenzo Torriani96
David Calabria2
Malick Thiaw28
88′
Strahinja Pavlovic31
Filippo Terracciano42
74′
Yunus Musah80
88′
Alvaro Morata7
61′
83′
81′
Noah Okafor17
74′
Samuel Chukwueze21
78′
92′
coach
Xabi Alonso
Paulo Alexandre Rodrigues Fonseca
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.
