Bayer Leverkusen confirmed attacking aptitude after which defensive grit to stare off AC Milan 1-0 at dwelling within the Champions League on Tuesday, continuing their perfect inaugurate to existence within the competition.
AFP
02 October, 2024, 03:25 am
Final modified: 02 October, 2024, 03:36 am
The decisive 2nd within the match came early within the 2nd interval when Leverkusen’s Victor Boniface confirmed his striker’s intuition to apply in an effort at aim and emphatically hand Xabi Alonso’s side the three positive aspects.
Leverkusen, overwhelmed Europa League finalists in Can even, have persevered their animated construct from closing season, winning every of their fits in Europe’s top membership competition with 5 goals scored and 0 conceded.
But it became as soon as a 2nd defeat in two Champions League outings for seven-times winners Milan after they misplaced 3-1 at dwelling to Liverpool in matchday one.
Boniface belief he had given the German champions the leap forward within the twenty first minute, most appealing for VAR to disclaim him a predominant aim within the Champions League honest for an offside within the form-up.
The hosts persevered to push as they obtained the upper hand on their Italian opponents.
German starlet Florian Wirtz became as soon as at the center of the entire lot Leverkusen created and Boniface became as soon as a real thorn for the defence.
Mike Maignan within the AC Milan aim saved the attain all the intention thru goalless going into the 2nd half.
Leverkusen dominance within the crash paid six minutes after the interval when Boniface smashed dwelling from discontinuance differ after Maignan could perhaps well additionally most appealing parry a low discontinuance to-post force by Jeremie Frimpong all the intention thru the aim-line to the waiting Nigerian.
The aim sparked some existence into the Italians. They started to pose a menace, with Youssouf Fofana hitting two strikes from distance that had goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky .
Frimpong had a appealing probability on the counter to seal the game with quarter-hour remaining but his function lacked composure and he most appealing came upon the side netting with honest Maignan to beat.
The traffic came within inches of grabbing an equaliser within the closing 10 minutes when Theo Hernandez’s deflected shot bounced over Hradecky and onto the bar. Then Alvaro Morata’s headed rebound went agonisingly huge of the a long way post.
Hradecky then became as soon as forced to fist away a rasping Ruben Loftus-Cheek strike on the half-turn.
Leverkusen tranquil posed a menace going forward and came within a whisker of wrapping up the match in difficulty time with a left-footed shot from Nathan Tella that flashed narrowly past the a long way post.
