Leno Bayer’s best player at Villarreal
Leverkusen never really got going in the cauldron at El Madrigal as they quickly found themselves 1-0 down. Kyriakos Papadopoulos’ attempted clearance in the fourth minute landed on the head of Roberto Soldado, who sent Cedric Bakambu on his way. The Congolese striker bore down one-on-one against Bernd Leno before slotting home from 14 yards. Germany’s keeper had made an excellent save seconds earlier to prevent a Soldado goal.
Bayer were unorganised in the opening stages and appeared to lack concentration. They were just as lacklustre going forward. Tin Jedvaj ran free down the right wing and crossed into the middle. Chicharito found himself free from eight yards out, but his header was not powerful enough. Shortly afterwards, Germany international Christoph Kramer showed his ability when he left Bruno Soriano standing – his shot was deflected but Stefan Kießling and Chicharito failed to react.
Bakambu bags brace
At the other end, Samu Castillejo narrowly avoided making it 2-0 following a ricochet in the box. And it was Castillejo again just before the break who ran at Jedvaj and sent the ball towards the near post. Soldado flicked the ball goal wards, but Leno produced a world-class reflex save to tip the ball round.
Bakambu was the protagonist again after the break as he bagged his second of the game. Julian Brandt lost the ball after a Bayer corner before Bakambu turned on the afterburners to sprint half the length of the pitch and outpace Karim Bellarabi. The forward then put the ball between Leno’s legs and into the back of the net.
Leno prevents worse
Bayer continued to offer little going forward and then lost Kramer. The World Champion fell to the ground following a robust challenge by Antonio Rukavina and was then stretchered off after several minutes of treatment. Benjamin Henrichs replaced Kramer and it was him who created Leverkusen’s only noteworthy chance of the game. His long-range effort flew just over the bar.
Leno rescued Bayer again in injury time when his sharp save prevented Leo Baptistao’s header from making it 3-0 and maintained Leverkusen’s hopes for the second leg next Thursday (19:00 CET). Jedvaj was sent off in the 95th minute for a second yellow.
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Borussia Dortmund have put themselves in a fantastic position to qualify for the next round of the Europa League after their 3-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in the first leg of the round of 16 at the Signal Iduna Park. Germany international Marco Reus was a shining light in the win as he scored a second-half brace. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had earlier put the superior BVB in front on the half-hour mark.
Dortmund’s coach Thomas Tuchel had to do without Ilkay Gündogan at short notice after he took a blow to his foot in training. On the other side, Tottenham’s coach Mauricio Pochettino rotated his team with seven new players compared to the weekend’s 2-2 draw with Arsenal. These changes saw top-scorer Harry Kane (17 goals this season) and Erik Lamela drop to the bench.
Gulf in class
BVB took advantage of the visitors’ many changes from the outset, and it soon became clear that were was a gulf in class between the two sides sat second in the Bundesliga and Premier League. From the first whistle, Dortmund sparked an attacking firework. Germany internationals Reus and Erik Durm in particular were both influential in the high tempo played and the duo combined to create the first chance of the evening for Gonzalo Castro, who replaced Gündogan in the starting XI. Barely a minute later, Aubameyang sent Durm though, but his shot went just wide of the far post.
Tottenham’s central defenders Kevin Wimmer and Toby Alderweireld were constantly under pressure in the opening stages. The former Köln man Wimmer prevented Durm from getting a shot off with a last-second tackle. Keeper Hugo Lloris then failed to hold a long-range effort from Henrikh Mkhitaryan – Aubameyang then tapped the ball home, but the linesman had his flag raised for offside and the goal was ruled out.
Aubameyang heads home Schmelzer’s cross
Dortmund continued to apply the pressure in search of the opening goal, but it was just the final touch that was missing. Lloris was a touch quicker than Reus in a sprint for the ball and also in the right position to stop a shot from Julian Weigl. However, the French keeper was powerless on the half-hour mark when a fantastic cross from Marcel Schmelzer landed perfectly on the head of Aubameyang to deservedly put the home side ahead.
BVB did not relax and afforded their guests no rest as the visitors failed to test the Dortmund defence in the first half. On the other hand, Reus sent a free kick from 20 yards narrowly wide and the score remained 1-0 at the break.
A picturesque brace for Reus
It was one-way traffic once again in the second half, and it was all headed for the Spurs goal. Only the post prevented the hosts from making it 2-0 in the 51st minute. Castro’s shot from a narrow angle after Aubameyang’s chipped effort hit the outside of the post. Despite Germany international Sven Bender hobbling off with a knock just before the hour, nothing changed in the flow of the game. In fact, his replacement Neven Subotic flicked on Castro’s corner to provide the assist for Reus to smash the ball home from two yards out.
At no stage did Tottenham manage to free themselves from the clutches of the home side. The third goal was only a matter of time. Nice build-up play from Aubameyang and Mkhitaryan ended with Reus slotting home to make it 3-0. Dortmund relieved the pressure in the closing minutes and will now travel to White Hart Lane next Thursday (kick-off 21:05 CET) for the second leg with a comfortable lead.
Leno Bayer’s best player at Villarreal
Leverkusen never really got going in the cauldron at El Madrigal as they quickly found themselves 1-0 down. Kyriakos Papadopoulos’ attempted clearance in the fourth minute landed on the head of Roberto Soldado, who sent Cedric Bakambu on his way. The Congolese striker bore down one-on-one against Bernd Leno before slotting home from 14 yards. Germany’s keeper had made an excellent save seconds earlier to prevent a Soldado goal.
Bayer were unorganised in the opening stages and appeared to lack concentration. They were just as lacklustre going forward. Tin Jedvaj ran free down the right wing and crossed into the middle. Chicharito found himself free from eight yards out, but his header was not powerful enough. Shortly afterwards, Germany international Christoph Kramer showed his ability when he left Bruno Soriano standing – his shot was deflected but Stefan Kießling and Chicharito failed to react.
Bakambu bags brace
At the other end, Samu Castillejo narrowly avoided making it 2-0 following a ricochet in the box. And it was Castillejo again just before the break who ran at Jedvaj and sent the ball towards the near post. Soldado flicked the ball goal wards, but Leno produced a world-class reflex save to tip the ball round.
Bakambu was the protagonist again after the break as he bagged his second of the game. Julian Brandt lost the ball after a Bayer corner before Bakambu turned on the afterburners to sprint half the length of the pitch and outpace Karim Bellarabi. The forward then put the ball between Leno’s legs and into the back of the net.
Leno prevents worse
Bayer continued to offer little going forward and then lost Kramer. The World Champion fell to the ground following a robust challenge by Antonio Rukavina and was then stretchered off after several minutes of treatment. Benjamin Henrichs replaced Kramer and it was him who created Leverkusen’s only noteworthy chance of the game. His long-range effort flew just over the bar.
Leno rescued Bayer again in injury time when his sharp save prevented Leo Baptistao’s header from making it 3-0 and maintained Leverkusen’s hopes for the second leg next Thursday (19:00 CET). Jedvaj was sent off in the 95th minute for a second yellow.
