A German Tale: Leverkusen On the Rise - Presented by BigJdotcom01

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2020-21 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: QUARTERFINAL (SECOND LEG)



CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUARTERFINAL RESULTS (SECOND LEG):
Manchester City 1:3 (4:4) Manchester Utd (Manchester City advances 4-3 on penalties)
Chelsea 0:2 (2:4) Liverpool
Lazio 0:2 (2:4) FC Barcelona
Real Madrid 1:3 (2:6) PSG

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BUNDESLIGA MATCHDAY 30

vs.

LEVERKUSEN 0:2 BAYERN MUNICH
BayArena (Capacity: 30,810)


Thomas Muller celebrates his goal in the 73rd minute to give Bayern the advantage.

SCORING:
73' - (BAY) - T. Muller
90' - (BAY) - D. Costa

DISCIPLINE:
48' - (BAY) - C. Tolisso (Yellow)
56' - (B04) - C. Aranguiz (Yellow)
78' - (Bay) - C. Tolisso (Yellow/Red)

4/18/21
Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia (AP) - Bayer Leverkusen returned to Bundesliga action on Sunday afternoon and played well, but could not unlock the Bayern Munich defense and fell 2-nil. Thomas Muller scored in the 73rd minute in what proved to be the winner as Bayern remains atop the Bundesliga.

Leverkusen played well for long stretches of the match but just could not finish. Their best chance would come just five minutes after falling behind. Corentin Tolisso tackled Moussa Diaby in the box and was shown a red card and Leverkusen was awarded a penalty. Edmond Tapsoba stepped up and struck it wide of the left post to keep Leverkusen off of the scoresheet.

Bayern would add a goal in the dying moments as Douglas Costa scored. They outshot Leverkusen 16-8 and 10-1 in on target attempts, holding a slight advantage in possession.

Leverkusen (13-3-14, 42 pts) now trails 1899 Hoffenheim by ten points with just four Bundesliga matches remaining for the final Europa League spot. Bayern moved four points clear of RB Leipzig atop the table.

Up next for Leverkusen is a Wednesday match at Leipzig in the semifinals of the DFB-Pokal. Bayern will play host to Wolfsburg in the other semifinal.

Matchday 30 Results:
Mainz 05 0:0 FC Augsburg
RB Leipzig 1:0 Schalke 04
Hertha Berlin 1:1 FC Cologne
SC Freiburg 0:2 Arminia Bielefeld
Wolfsburg 0:1 Eintracht Frankfurt
Dortmund 1:1 Werder Bremen
Stuttgart 1:1 Monchengladbach
1899 Hoffenheim 2:1 Union Berlin

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DFB-POKAL SEMIFINAL



vs.

RB LEIPZIG 1:2 LEVERKUSEN
Red Bull Arena (Capacity: 42,959)


Patrik Schick sent Leverkusen into the final with this goal in the 82nd minute.

SCORING:
7' - (RBL) - H. Hee Chan
69' - (B04) - E. Camavinga
82' - (B04) - P. Schick

DISCIPLINE:
45' - (RBL) - J. Denayer (Yellow)
75' - (RBL) - B. Mechele (Yellow)

4/21/21
Leipzig, Saxony (AP) - Bayer Leverkusen rallied with two late second half goals to stun RB Leipzig 2-1 to advance to the final of the DFB-Pokal. Patrik Schick scored in the 82nd minute to give Leverkusen the lead that they would not relinquish as they advance to the final for the first time since 2009.

Hwang Hee Chan put RB Leipzig in front early as he tapped home a rebound in the 7th minute to give RB Leipzig the early advantage.

The game was wildly entertaining with both sides creating excellent scoring chances. Peter Gulacsi made a huge stop on Moussa Diaby in the closing moments of the opening half to keep the home sie in front at the break.

In the 66th minute, Eduardo Camavinga sent Patrik Schick in alone but his shot just grazed the outside of the right post. Two minutes later it would be Camavinga who would get Leverkusen back in the match. He raced down the center of the pitch and took a pass from Moussa Diaby coming in from the left flank, and tapped it into the open net to level the match at 1-1.

Leverkusen had a chance to go on top in the 75th minute when Brandon Mechele made on awkward tackle on Moussa Diaby in the box and drew a penalty. Patrik Schick struck it well but the shot hit the left post and stayed out.

Schick would get his redemption just six minutes later. Dani Olmo fed him a pass at the top of the six yard box and his shot deflected in off of keeper Peter Gulacsi to put Leverkusen in front 2-1.

Leverkusen really did deserve the result, outshooting RB Leipzig 14-7 with a 9-6 advantage in shots on target. They outshot Leipzig 8-2 in the second half and really seemed to be on the front foot, asking all the questions. Moussa Diaby was the Man of the Match. His runs down the left side stretched RB Leipzig all day and he had a few great chances to score while setting up the first goal.

Leverkusen returns to Bundesliga play on Sunday as they travel to Freiburg. The DFB-Pokal Final will be played in Berlin on Saturday, May 23 where Leverkusen will face Bayern Munich. The Bavarians have won the Cup a record 20 times including the last two. Leverkusen will attempt to win their second DFB-Pokal. They won it in 1993 and have finished runner up three times.

DFB-Pokal Semifinal Results:
FC Bayern 2:0 Wolfsburg

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BUNDESLIGA MATCHDAY 31

vs.

SC FREIBURG 2:3 LEVERKUSEN
SC Stadion (Capacity: 34,700)


Patrik Schick still has a chance at the Bundesliga Golden Boot.

SCORING:
28' - (SCF) - A. Abrashi
37' - (B04) - P. Schick
53' - (SCF) - J. Schmid
65' - (B04) - C. Aranguiz
73' - (B04) - P. Schick

DISCIPLINE:
NONE

4/25/21
Freiburg, Baden-Wurttemberg (AP) - Bayer Leverkusen rallied twice from one goal deficits to pull out a 3-2 victory over SC Freiburg on a rainy Sunday afternoon. Patrik Schick came through with the match winner in the 73rd minute. It was his second of the match and 20th on the campaign.

Freiburg, fighting for their Bundesliga lives, came out attacking a Leverkusen side that was playing many subs ahead of their Europa League match coming up. In the 28th minute, Amir Abrashi was able to take the ball from defender Darlo Maresic in the box and he slipped it past Illan Meslier to put Freiburg in front.

Nine minutes later it was Patrik Schick leveling the match with a nice individual play, as he turned his defender around in the box and easily slipped it home.

Jonathan Schmid would put Freiburg back on top in the 53rd minute. He took a pass form Kwon Chang Hoon and was able to guide it past Meslier on the near side much to the delight of the home fans.

But this Leverkusen side is unlike the one that was sleepwalking through much of the Bundesliga campaign. In the 65th minute Charles Aranguiz made a run down the middle and scored to level the match at 2-2. Then in the 73rd minute it was Patrik Schick again. He took a pass from Charles Aranguiz and just slipped it into the left corner to give Leverkusen their first lead of the afternoon.

Aranguiz earned Man of the Match honors with the goal and assist.

Leverkusen will now travel to London for Thursday's huge Europa League Semifinal First Leg against Arsenal. They return to Bundesliga action on Sunday as they will host Wolfsburg.

Matchday 31 Results:
FC Augsburg 2:1 Eintracht Frankfurt
Schalke 04 1:1 FC Cologne
Mainz 05 0:4 Monchengladbach
RB Leipzig 2:3 FC Bayern
Werder Bremen 3:3 Arminia Bielefeld
Dortmund 1:1 Union Berlin
Hertha Berlin 0:3 Stuttgart
Wolfsburg 2:1 1899 Hoffenheim

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Bayer Leverkusen still has an outside shot at the Europa League Play-off. Here are the remaining matches for the three clubs in the race:
1899 Hoffenheim (52 pts): vs Dortmund, vs SC Freiburg, @ Frankfurt
Frankfurt (51 pts): at Arminia Bielefeld, vs Werder Bremen, vs 1899 Hoffenheim
Leverkusen (45 pts): vs Wolfsburg, vs Hertha Berlin, @ Werder Bremen

Down in Bundesliga 2, Hamburger SV and Dusseldorf will both be heading back to the Bundesliga next season as they have locked up the top two spots. Hannover 96 and 1. FC Nurnberg are currently tied for the Relegation Playoff spot with Erzebirge Aue and Holstein Kiel still alive as well.

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UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE SEMIFINAL (FIRST LEG)



vs.

ARSENAL 0:1 LEVERKUSEN
Emirates Stadium (Capacity: 60,704)


Dani Olmo has been a key addition to Leverkusen this season and his goal on Thursday was huge.

SCORING:
54' - (B04) - D. Olmo

DISCIPLINE:
NONE

4/29/21
Islington, London, England (AP) - Bayer Leverkusen is now just 90 minutes away from the UEFA Europa League Final after a 1-nil victory over Arsenal in the first leg of the Europa League semifinal at Emirates Stadium in north London. Dani Olmo's goal in the 54th minute was the difference as he was the best player on the pitch this evening.

The first half was scoreless thanks to save after save from Lukas Hradacky. He came up big three times in the opening 15 minutes. He got a hand on a shot from Marco Reus in the 11th minute to deflect it over the bar. Moments later it was Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang with a hard, long shot that Hradacky dove to knock wide. He then stopped Reus again from close range to keep it scoreless.

Leverkusen would settle down though after the early barrage. Moussa Diaby and Eduardo Camavinga each had nice scoring chances. Diaby's chance slid just wide of the far post in the 18th minute and Camavinga shot one over the bar in the 36th minute.

Bad news for Leverkusen and Camavinga in the 41st minute as he was hit hard in the Arsenal box by Pau Torres and he had to leave the match with an injury. There was no foul on the play although Leverkusen was pleading for one. Early reports are that he will be out 6-8 weeks with an arm injury.

Bernd Leno made a big save in the 52nd minute on Dani Olmo to keep it scoreless. Olmo had gotten free in the box and unleashed a powerful shot that Leno somehow got a hand on. Just two minutes later, Olmo would not miss. Lars Bender found Olmo in the box and he slotted it into the top left corner to give Leverkusen the lead.

From that point on you could see the confidence in Leverkusen as they took the play to Arsenal, mounting numerous scoring chances but they could not add to their lead.

Leverkusen will try to advance to the final next Thursday at home at the BayArena needing just a draw to advance.

UEFA Europa League Semifinal (First Leg) Results:
RB Leipzig 4:2 Dortmund

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2020-21 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: SEMIFINAL (FIRST LEG)



CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SEMIFINAL RESULTS (FIRST LEG):
Manchester City 0:4 PSG
Liverpool 2:1 FC Barcelona

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BUNDESLIGA MATCHDAY 32

vs.

LEVERKUSEN 0:0 VFL WOLFSBURG
BayArena (Capacity: 30,810)


Leverkusen keeper Lukas Hradacky was the Man of the Match in the scoreless draw.

SCORING:
NONE

DISCIPLINE:
NONE

5/2/21
Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia (AP) - Sunday afternoon saw a very lackluster nil-nil draw between Bayer Leverkusen and VfL Wolfsburg at the BayArena. Wolfsburg is the best defensive side in the Bundesliga and they yielded no on target attempts in the draw.

Wolfsburg outshot Leverkusen 11-7, but they manged three on target attempts. Leverkusen held a possession advantage 57-43.

The home side was playing with a mix of starters and reserves as it prepares for Thursday evenings huge Europa League semifinal with Arsenal.

The draw has removed any chance that Leverkusen can finish in the top six, not shocking considering how the season started, but disappointing nonetheless. Leverkusen id (9-2-3) in their last 14 matches across all competitions.

Leverkusen (14-4-14, 46 pts) will close out the Bundesliga schedule at home next Sunday against Hertha Berlin and then at Werder Bremen the following Saturday. They will host Arsenal on Thursday with dreams of a trip to the Europa League final against either RB Leipzig or Dortmund.

Matchday 32 Results:
Hertha Berlin 1:1 FC Augsburg
Stuttgart 3:1 SC Freiburg
Arminia Bielefeld 0:1 Eintracht Frankfurt
FC Bayern 1:0 Mainz 05
1899 Hoffenheim 0:2 Dortmund
Union Berlin 1:1 RB Leipzig
Monchengladbach 0:1 Schalke 04
FC Cologne 0:1 Werder Bremen