1:0 in Baku: Leverkusen secure progress
Bayer Leverkusen continued their winning streak in the Europa League and secured their progression on matchday four. The Bundesliga leaders, coached by Xabi Alonso, won 1:0 (0:0) at FK Karabakh Agdam on Thursday thanks to a penalty in the fourth minute of stoppage time. Victor Boniface converted with ease in the Azerbaijani capital Baku. Leverkusen, who have yet to lose a competitive match this season, have twelve points after four of their six group games.
Alonso opted for rotation in his starting eleven. Compared to the 3-2 win at TSG Hoffenheim last Saturday, the Spaniard made six changes. Goalkeeper Matej Kovar and midfielder Robert Andrich were among the new additions to the team.
And Bayer did not get off to a good start. It took until the 23rd minute before the Werkself had a halfway dangerous chance in front of Karabakh Agdam's goal. After a corner from Alejandro Grimaldo, who has been so strong so far this season, Piero Hincapié failed to clear his header past former Leverkusen keeper Andrej Lunew in the hosts' goal.
The underdogs, who had gone down 5-1 in the first leg, kept the game open. Karabakh Agdam played quickly through the midfield time and again to get into the Bayer penalty area. However, the hosts were not really dangerous at first. It was only after a misunderstanding between Hincapié and Kovar that things got dicey. Bayer's substitute keeper, who replaces captain Lukas Hradecky in the international matches, had no problems with a shot from Juninho.
After the break, Leverkusen initially took greater control. Bayer 04 had more possession and occasionally allowed the ball to move well through midfield. However, the visitors rarely got into the penalty area. In the 66th minute, center forward Victor Boniface made a dangerous save, but Lunew reacted well and made the save.
At the other end, Juninho hit his own captain Abdellah Zoubir instead of the goal from a promising position. Yassine Benzia also failed to hit the target accurately enough for the hosts, who were cheered on by frenzied fans. Leverkusen didn't really come up with much offensively in the final phase. The penalty then gave them the chance to win, which Boniface did not miss.
Source: www.dpa.com
