Leverkusen on course for the quarter-finals
1. FC Union trembles after a wild exchange of blows
03/09/2023 8:42 p.m
In the Europa League, Bayer Leverkusen is fighting for the best chances of reaching the quarter-finals. Against Ferencvaros Budapest, the Werkself are keeping their last chance of winning the title of what has been a disappointing season so far. 1. FC Union Berlin have to settle for a draw at home against Union St. Giloise.
Bayer Leverkusen opens the door to the quarter-finals of the Europa League, while Union Berlin is still looking for the key: In the round of 16 first legs, only one of the two Bundesliga teams has worked out a comfortable starting position. Leverkusen won 2-0 (1-0) against Ferencvaros Budapest on Thursday evening, Kerem Demirbay (10th) and Edmond Tapsoba (86th) nurtured Leverkusen’s last hope for the title in the disappointing season so far.
Tapsoba put the lid on for Bayer.
(Photo: IMAGO/RHR-Foto)
Union, meanwhile, came to a 3: 3 (1: 1) against the Belgian club Union Saint-Gilloise in a turbulent game in freezing rain – after all, in the end it had to mean winter access Josip Juranovic (42nd), central defender Robin Knoche ( 69.) and Sven Michel (89.) equalized three times. The guest from Belgium was ice cold through Victor Boniface (28′, 72′) and Yorbe Vertessen (58′) and frustrated the hosts with strong counterattacks.
“We remain positive. It wasn’t all bad,” said captain Christopher Trimmel on RTL +, but criticized individual mistakes – including his own. Central defender Robin Knoche also spoke openly about the deficits: “We were too stupid with two and a half of the three goals we conceded. That shouldn’t happen to us, especially at home. In the end, we could have done better.”
Union, who have been without a win three times in a row in the Bundesliga, are now under a lot of pressure in the second leg in a week’s time in Brussels. And the strengths of the Belgians were well known to the Irons, in the group stage they had inflicted a home defeat on Union.
“We know them, we know it’s a difficult task,” coach Urs Fischer said before the game. The hosts were by no means anxious because of this, Union was the more active team from the start. Sheraldo Becker had the first good chance with a nice direct acceptance (9th). Saint-Gilloise only came into play better after around 20 minutes – and then was always ice cold. Union opposed it. The Croatian international Juranovic scored with a nice free kick from around 18 meters, Knoche converted a penalty in the margin, and Joker Michel also stabbed.
Bayer with control but no chances
“On the pitch, I had the feeling that we controlled the game very well. We slacked off briefly in the second half. Overall, we played a very good game, very mature and very focused. We’re satisfied, we have to But keep going,” said Bayer professional Nadiem Amiri, adding with a view to the competition: “We’re not just playing here to see how far we can go. We have a good team, a lot of potential. Frankfurt has it also done. We believe in ourselves.”
Leverkusen only shone in phases before the eyes of DFB sporting director Rudi Völler, and initially found hardly any solutions against the deeply staggered Budapest team. That changed with Demirbay’s spectacular shot, which gave Ferencvaros keeper Denes Dibusz no chance.
Bayer controlled the action with almost 70 percent possession without creating any further chances. That almost took revenge when Kristoffer Zachariassen appeared out of nowhere after a fine pass in front of Leverkusen captain and goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky and lifted the ball over the Finn to the crossbar.
Even after the change of sides, the picture was the same. Ferencvaros was lurking for a counterattack – Leverkusen needed almost ten minutes again to threaten to score again. But the next goal didn’t come until the final phase.