Freiburg miss out on group win - Leverkusen complete perfect group stage

Europa League - Freiburg miss out on group win - Leverkusen complete perfect group stage

Too few ideas up front and mistakes at the back: SC Freiburg missed out on a direct place in the last 16 of the Europa League. The Bundesliga club lost 0:2 (0:2) to West Ham United on Thursday and will have to take a detour via the intermediate round due to the away defeat. The difference was made by goals from Mohammed Kudus (15th minute) and Edson Álvarez (42nd minute). The English Premier League club would have needed a win to knock Freiburg out of first place after losing 2-1 in the first leg.

However, the adventure on the island, which Freiburg and above all coach Christian Streich had been extremely excited about, ended with a damper for the Breisgauers. "I've never played in a competition in the best and most expensive league, where they have by far the most money. It's extremely motivating for us to show that we little Freiburgers from the Bundesliga can play a good game here," Streich said.

His players did not succeed. Only the first scene belonged to Sport-Club. Driven on by more than 3,500 fans, Nicolas Höfler had the first goal for the visitors (1st). West Ham followed suit. The home side wanted to show a reaction after last weekend's 5-0 defeat at FC Fulham. Lucas Paquetá failed to hit the crossbar (5'). But ten minutes later, Kudus got away from his opponent Jordy Makengo and scored.

As in the first leg, Freiburg faced the Londoners with great respect - and were punished for their passivity. Despite the two-man attack, there was hardly anything going forward. In defense, the SC made some hair-raising ball losses. Jarrod Bowen almost accepted one of these gifts. However, the attacker was offside when he supposedly scored his second goal (25').

However, the Hammers extended their lead before the break. As Freiburg were unable to get a grip, Álvarez, who was courted by Borussia Dortmund before the season, increased the lead effortlessly.

Leverkusen also win their sixth Europa League match

Bayer Leverkusen completed the first perfect preliminary round for a club in three years in the Europa League with a goal festival by a B team. Crowned by a goal from top scorer Patrik Schick on his return to the starting eleven after 408 days, the Bundesliga leaders celebrated their sixth win in six matches with a 5:1 (3:0) victory over Norwegian cup winners Molde FK to close out the group.

Only ten teams had previously achieved the optimum haul of 18 points in the preliminary round, most recently Arsenal FC in 2020 and Eintracht Frankfurt in 2018, the only German club to do so. A bad omen, however, for the ambitious Leverkusen side, who have 20 wins and two draws after 22 competitive matches this season: None of their predecessors ended up winning the title.

In an unglamorous group, however, Leverkusen's yield is remarkable because coach Xabi Alonso always rotated his squad. Against Molde, he even changed his team in nine positions compared to the 1:1 in the Bundesliga. Schick (6th), Edmond Tapsoba (22nd) and Adam Hlozek with a double strike (60th/71st) scored the goals, while Molde's Martin Ellingsen (25th) scored an own goal. Ken Izekor also became the youngest Leverkusen player ever to appear in a competitive match when he came on as a substitute in the 77th minute at the age of 16 years and 204 days. Eric Kitolano (76) scored for Molde, who will continue in the Conference League as third in their group.

Alonso had left only central defenders Jonathan Tah and Edmond Tapsoba in the team. As a result, Schick was joined by a player who had to wait even longer. Niklas Lomb, actually the third goalkeeper, was allowed to play in a competitive match for the first time in three years. He had last played in goal on February 25, 2021, also in the Europa League against Young Boys Bern.

The large rotation made no difference to Bayern's expected clear dominance. When Schick scored with a left-footed shot from 18 meters, Lomb had not yet touched the ball. And when Tapsoba headed home from seven meters after a cross from Jonas Hofmann and the Norwegians also scored a curious own goal when Anders Hagelskjaer shot Ellingsen in the face, the game was virtually decided.

The scene in the 44th minute was emblematic of the fact that the victory could have been significantly higher, when first a shot from Nathan Tella was cleared off the line, then Schick hit the post and finally Hlozek missed from three meters. The Czech then scored after the break - twice.