The Europa League last 32 second-leg ties took place on Thursday evening and the Bundesliga sides involved will have mixed memories of their respective games. Leverkusen and Dortmund have booked their spots in the next round but there was heartbreak for both Schalke and Augsburg, who lost their respective matches and have consequently been eliminated from the competition.
Bellarabi brace fires Bayer 04 through
Germany international Karim Bellarabi scored twice and Hakan Calhanoglu grabbed the other as Leverkusen beat Sporting Lisbon 3-1 in Germany to progress. They won the first leg in Portugal 1-0 and therefore progress thanks to a 4-1 aggregate scoreline.
Bellarabi, who grabbed the winner in the first-leg, shone in the BayArena and gave his side a great chance of progressing thanks to goals either side of half time (29’ and 65’). Sporting did level the score on the night after 38 minutes thanks to a strike from João Mário to cancel out Leverkusen’s away goal, but they never looked like forcing the tie to extra time. Turkey star Hakan Calhanoglu wrapped the tie up with just three minutes left on the clock and Roger Schmidt’s side now have their eyes on Friday’s draw for the next round.
Augsburg fall short in Liverpool
Markus Weinzierl’s FC Augsburg side performed admirably in Liverpool but were ultimately unable to reach the next round of the competition. James Milner’s early penalty (5’) proved decisive as Jürgen Klopp’s men progressed 1-0 on aggregate. The Swabians should, however, be proud of their efforts in what was their maiden season competing in a European competition.
Milner had the chance to convert after Dominik Kohr handled in the box. He finished with aplomb to give the Reds the lead. Augsburg had their chances though and could have been in front after just 50 seconds but Caiuby’s effort lacked conviction. Kostas Stafylidis’ powerful shot caused the home side problems but Liverpool were always in control of the game and could have scored more goals, however, Swiss international Marwin Hitz was in imperious form between the sticks for FCA. The surprise late introduction of Raul Bobadilla failed to galvanise the Swabians but they’ve given an excellent account of themselves in Europe this term and will have made many friends along the way.
Schalke falter at home
Andre Breitenreiter’s FC Schalke 04 side were comfortably beaten in front of their own fans by Shakhtar Donetsk and therefore crash out of the competition. Last week’s first-leg ended goalless in Lviv but the Ukrainian side really stepped it up this week and ran out 3-0 courtesy of goals from Marlos Romero Bonfim (27’), Facundo Ferreyra (63’) and Viktor Kowalenko (77’). Additionally, Leon Goretzka had to be subbed off before the break with a should injury, so in short, it was a night to forget for the Royal Blues.
It could have been different for S04 had Johannes Geis’ second-minute free kick gone in instead of hitting the post and rebounding to safety. They were the architects of their own downfall moments later: Leroy Sane lost the ball too easily, Joel Matip was unable to react quick enough and Marlos stylishly flicked the ball home to give his side an all-important away goal. Matip was also at fault for Shakhtar’s second goal and there was no coming back from that point. The third merely a statistic as the Gelsenkirchen side exit the competition at the last 32 stage.
Dortmund wrap up comfortable progression
Thomas Tuchel’s Borussia Dortmund side wrapped up a 3-0 aggregate victory over FC Porto on Thursday evening thanks to Iker Casillas’ own goal after 27 minutes of the second-leg. BVB won the first-leg 2-0 in Signal Iduna Park last week. The hosts never really looked like making anything happen, so progression was a mere formality for the side who are currently second in the Bundesliga table.
Dortmund did, however, look nervous early on but the jitters stopped after Casillas put through his own net. A stunning counterattack featuring Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Marco Reus ended with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang firing a powerful effort onto the bar, which then came down and hit the unfortunate keeper before bouncing over the line. Borussia had more chances throughout the game but remained in control until the final whistle.
created by mmc/mb
The Europa League last 32 second-leg ties took place on Thursday evening and the Bundesliga sides involved will have mixed memories of their respective games. Leverkusen and Dortmund have booked their spots in the next round but there was heartbreak for both Schalke and Augsburg, who lost their respective matches and have consequently been eliminated from the competition.
Bellarabi brace fires Bayer 04 through
Germany international Karim Bellarabi scored twice and Hakan Calhanoglu grabbed the other as Leverkusen beat Sporting Lisbon 3-1 in Germany to progress. They won the first leg in Portugal 1-0 and therefore progress thanks to a 4-1 aggregate scoreline.
Bellarabi, who grabbed the winner in the first-leg, shone in the BayArena and gave his side a great chance of progressing thanks to goals either side of half time (29’ and 65’). Sporting did level the score on the night after 38 minutes thanks to a strike from João Mário to cancel out Leverkusen’s away goal, but they never looked like forcing the tie to extra time. Turkey star Hakan Calhanoglu wrapped the tie up with just three minutes left on the clock and Roger Schmidt’s side now have their eyes on Friday’s draw for the next round.
Augsburg fall short in Liverpool
Markus Weinzierl’s FC Augsburg side performed admirably in Liverpool but were ultimately unable to reach the next round of the competition. James Milner’s early penalty (5’) proved decisive as Jürgen Klopp’s men progressed 1-0 on aggregate. The Swabians should, however, be proud of their efforts in what was their maiden season competing in a European competition.
Milner had the chance to convert after Dominik Kohr handled in the box. He finished with aplomb to give the Reds the lead. Augsburg had their chances though and could have been in front after just 50 seconds but Caiuby’s effort lacked conviction. Kostas Stafylidis’ powerful shot caused the home side problems but Liverpool were always in control of the game and could have scored more goals, however, Swiss international Marwin Hitz was in imperious form between the sticks for FCA. The surprise late introduction of Raul Bobadilla failed to galvanise the Swabians but they’ve given an excellent account of themselves in Europe this term and will have made many friends along the way.
Schalke falter at home
Andre Breitenreiter’s FC Schalke 04 side were comfortably beaten in front of their own fans by Shakhtar Donetsk and therefore crash out of the competition. Last week’s first-leg ended goalless in Lviv but the Ukrainian side really stepped it up this week and ran out 3-0 courtesy of goals from Marlos Romero Bonfim (27’), Facundo Ferreyra (63’) and Viktor Kowalenko (77’). Additionally, Leon Goretzka had to be subbed off before the break with a should injury, so in short, it was a night to forget for the Royal Blues.
It could have been different for S04 had Johannes Geis’ second-minute free kick gone in instead of hitting the post and rebounding to safety. They were the architects of their own downfall moments later: Leroy Sane lost the ball too easily, Joel Matip was unable to react quick enough and Marlos stylishly flicked the ball home to give his side an all-important away goal. Matip was also at fault for Shakhtar’s second goal and there was no coming back from that point. The third merely a statistic as the Gelsenkirchen side exit the competition at the last 32 stage.
Dortmund wrap up comfortable progression
Thomas Tuchel’s Borussia Dortmund side wrapped up a 3-0 aggregate victory over FC Porto on Thursday evening thanks to Iker Casillas’ own goal after 27 minutes of the second-leg. BVB won the first-leg 2-0 in Signal Iduna Park last week. The hosts never really looked like making anything happen, so progression was a mere formality for the side who are currently second in the Bundesliga table.
Dortmund did, however, look nervous early on but the jitters stopped after Casillas put through his own net. A stunning counterattack featuring Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Marco Reus ended with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang firing a powerful effort onto the bar, which then came down and hit the unfortunate keeper before bouncing over the line. Borussia had more chances throughout the game but remained in control until the final whistle.
