Bayer on course for the Champions League: Frankfurt saves energy
Created: 05/02/2022Updated: 05/02/2022 10:35 p.m
Leverkusen's Paulinho (lr), Sardar Azmoun, goal scorer Patrik Schick, Robert Andrich and Jonathan Tah celebrate the 2-0.
© Federico Gambarini/dpa
Bundesliga
Leverkusen – Bayer Leverkusen is on course for the Champions League, while Eintracht Frankfurt conceded an expected defeat between the semi-final highlights in the Europa League with a B-Elf.
Leverkusen consolidated their third place on Monday evening with a 2-0 (1-0) win over the Hessians, who changed eight positions compared to the 2-1 win at West Ham United.
The defeat cannot seriously be described as a failed dress rehearsal.
On Thursday, Eintracht welcomes the Londoners in the fight for the final.
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In addition, for Frankfurt, for which the league is no longer important, there was nothing to be gained in Leverkusen in the past few years, even with the best line-up.
This was the seventh defeat in a row at the BayArena with an unbelievable 2:25 goals.
For Bayer, the safe participation in the European Cup, which was already certain at the start of the weekend due to the results, is only a stopover.
The goal is clearly the Champions League.
And that's very close.
Paulinho (18th) and Patrik Schick (51st) scored the goals on Monday with his 22nd goal of the season.
The Frankfurters didn't really seem unmotivated for the supposedly annoying stopover between the two West Ham games.
Apparently the final tension was missing.
The weakened Leverkusen team allowed the Hessians to play along and waited for counterattacks with their fast players.
And one of the first led to success.
Moussa Diaby, who was as fast as an arrow, pulled away, served Paulinho with an outside instep pass and the Brazilian, who had been successful last week, scored his fourth goal of the season through Kevin Trapp's legs.
Schick also scored in the 34th minute, but had previously been offside.
The Frankfurters hardly came dangerously in front of the goal.
Goncalo Paciencia's first shot on goal came in the 38th minute and was completely harmless, while Jens Petter Hauge's was only slightly more dangerous despite a good position (42').
Coach Oliver Glasner saved more energy at the break and made three changes.
Tuta and Filip Kostic were also the only two outfield players left in the starting XI compared to the game in London.
The goal after the break scored again Bayer.
Schick's jubilation was initially interrupted by referee Benjamin Cortus for offside.
However, the video evidence showed that the Czech had not been offside by millimeters.
The ball went through Trapp's legs again, the assist came from Diaby again;
it was his eleventh of the current season.
dpa