No chance for German champions

It was a tough night in Leverkusen that only got tougher as it went on. The German champions gave us very little chance on matchday five of the league stage of the UEFA Champions League – inflicting a heavy 5-0 defeat on us at the BayArena.

We couldn’t have imagined a worse start. At least we kept Leverkusen out in the second minute when we presented the ball to Florian Wirtz on the edge of the area. The Germany international drove through and had a turn – but his well-placed shot was superbly saved by Alex Schlager.

Our relief didn’t last long as things turned precarious again in the sixth minute. A dangerous shot hit Sammy Baidoo on his leg and bounced on his elbow – the referee signaled for a spot kick after a few seconds and stood by his decision after checking his monitor. Schlager turned on Wirtz again, but this time the German genius smashed the ball in and put his team 1-0 ahead (6′).

The German champions kept their foot on the accelerator and made it two from their next set-piece. This time it was Alejandro Grimaldo who curled a free kick from just outside the box into the top corner (11′).

There was one more blow left in a terrible opening phase – when Karim Konate suddenly went down injured (13′). We are awaiting a diagnosis, but things are not looking so good for our striker.

Our goal faced a constant barrage of pressure from the hosts. Schlager did his best to keep Xabi Alonso’s side from slipping out of sight (making five saves in the first half), but the Austria goalkeeper couldn’t keep out a Wirtz solo effort in the 30th minute. Leverkusen were in full flow and reminded us how they became champions with an unbeaten season. Our boys were well off that kind of pace tonight.

The hosts let the pace drop slightly at the start of the second half, with a quiet opening phase. Bayer Leverkusen weren’t done though, and they struck again with around 30 minutes remaining – when Jeremie Frimpong laid a cross for Patrik Schick, who turned in to make it 4-0.

Xabi Alonso made changes but the dominance of the German champions was unchanged. Another goal came from substitute Aleix Garcia – who slotted in from the edge of the box to make it 5-0 in the 72nd minute.

We had a chance to score in the closing stages – with Amar Dedic keeping Matej Kovar on his toes with a fierce drive. However, there was no change on the thoroughly disappointing scoreboard.

We had a good time in all respects. The way Bayer Leverkusen performed today made it difficult to get anything, but the way we played – especially in the first half – was disappointing. You can’t do that in Europe.

Nene for Konate (16′), Bidstrup for Clark (46′), Bajcetic for Gourna-Douath (46′), Guindo for Terzic (46′), Capaldo for Diambou (74′)