Goals from Eberechi Eze and Declan Rice either side of half-time eliminated Bayer Leverkusen from the Champions League tonight.
Bayer Leverkusen’s Champions League journey has come to an end this evening at the hands of last-16 opponents Arsenal. Tonight’s 2-0 defeat means Kasper Hjulmand’s side bow out of Europe’s premier competition on a fairly respectable 3-1 aggregate scoreline.
Perhaps, unlike the first-leg of this tie, Arsenal looked far more comfortable at home this evening roared on by their supporters. The initial half-hour of this game resulted in Leverkusen coming under a barrage of fire, with Janis Blaswich to thank for parity.
After Gabriel headed wide from a set-piece, Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard combined for the latter to test Blaswich. Saka was key to most of Arsenal’s attacking play, delivering yet again to find his Brazilian centre-half who steered a close-range header over the bar.
Leverkusen’s shot-stopper pulled off several parries to deny Saka again alongside Trossard and Ben White before he was eventually breached. A delightful touch from Eberechi Eze enabled the midfielder to swivel and drive the ball flawlessly inside the left post.
Aside from a rather tame Christian Kofane header and the lively Alejandro Grimaldo, the Rhineland club lacked cutting edge in the first-half. This pattern continued after the break with just four shots at goal prompting Hjulmand to call upon Monty Culbreath and Malik Tillman.
However, the Londoners would strike again for 2-0 just three minutes after the changes. Declan Rice went alone, intercepting Grimaldo and driving onto the edge of the box before picking out the bottom-right corner, leaving Blaswich fixed to the spot.
Ex-Leverkusen man Kai Havertz thought he had bundled in a third only for VAR to interject and spot a hand ball. Late on, Jarell Quansah fired wide and David Raya denied Kofane on a night where seldom else clicked for Leverkusen who bowed out of Europe in the English capital.
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