CHAMPIONS LEAGUE PLAYER RATINGS | Bayer Leverkusen 0-2 Bayern Munich (aggregate 0-5)

Bayern Munich comfortably beat Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 on the night and 5-0 on aggregate to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League. 

From a Leverkusen perspective, the energy in the first half was there and they were able to perform considerably better than last week, but the thing that was missing was the creative spark to create chances (who would of thought without Florian Wirtz). The best chances of the first 45 minutes fell to Bayern but Leverkusen were resolute at the back and limited any damages. As half-time approached, Leverkusen had better chances but the chances of a comeback were beginning to fade away. 

The second half started off the worst possible way for Leverkusen, after giving away a free-kick just outside the box. The resultant ball was played in and a mix up in defence allowed Harry Kane to tap the ball in to make it 1-0 on the night and 4-0 on aggregate ending the tie. Laterkusen decided to play well for around 10 minutes when the tie was over, a bit too late. Then a well worked team move, where Leverkusen were all over the place defensively allowed Alphonso Davies to make it 2-0 and 5-0 on aggregate. 

If we are completely honest, Bayern were never at their best over the two legs, and that is mainly down to Leverkusen. Die Werkself were just poor throughout the whole 180 minutes. Every goal, apart from the second tonight, came from an individual mistake from a Leverkusen player, which tells you everything you need to know. After Leverkusen’s remarkable season last year, a lot of the players, who were there before Xabi Alonso arrived, have reverted to type, which for the likes of Jeremie Frimpong and Jonathan Tah, may suggest that leaving the BayArena may not be the best idea as they are not as good as first thought. 

Question marks can also be raised about Alonso. The Spaniard will be a great head coach in the future, but his inexperience in the big moments means he is not ready for a move to Real Madrid. Last season against Atalanta and this season against Bayern, Leverkusen have collapsed and Alonso’s tactical choices and decision making are part of the reasons for both of them.  

In the space of a week, Leverkusen’s season has collapsed. Heading into the summer, big changes will have to be made if they want to win the Bundesliga once again.

Bayern on the other hand secure passage to the next round where they will face Inter. The Italians, who are defensively very sound, unlike Leverkusen, will be a tough challenge for the Bavarians. However, the dream of reaching the final in Munich lives on. 

Bayer Leverkusen:

Lukas Hradecky (5), Arthur (6), Mario Hermoso (-), Jonathan Tah (5), Piero Hincapié (5), Jeremie Frimpong (4), Aleix Garcia (5), Granit Xhaka (5), Exequiel Palacios (5), Alejandro Grimaldo (5), Patrik Schick (4)

Others: Robert Andrich (5), Amine Adli (5), Victor Boniface (5), Emiliano Buendia (-)

Bayern Munich:

Jonas Urbig (6), Konrad Laimer (5), Min-Jae Kim (6), Dayot Upamecano (6), Alphonso Davies (6), Joshua Kimmich (6), Leon Goretzka (6), Michael Olise (6), Jamal Musiala (6), Kingsley Coman (5), Harry Kane (7)

Others: Josip Stanisic (5), Hiroki Ito (5), Thomas Müller (-), João Palhinha (-)

GGFN Man of the Match: Harry Kane (7)

A bit of a nothing award today, unlike last week. The 30-year-old scored one of the easiest goals of his life to open the scoring (no bonus points) before providing the assist for the team move for the second. As mentioned above, Leverkusen were the authors of their own demise.

Jonas Urbig does deserve a shout out, although he did not make a lot of saves, when he was called upon, he did his job and made several good saves to keep out Leverkusen. Considering this was his full Champions League debut, a very good performance from the Köln native. 

GGFN | Jack Meenan