Leverkusen continued its unbeaten streak to 44 games this season and succeeded in advancing to the UEL semifinals.
Leverkusen, led by head coach Xavi Alonso, drew 1-1 at West Ham in the second round of the 2023-2024 UEFA Europa League (UEL) quarterfinals at London Stadium in London, England, at 4 a.m. on the 19th (Korea time).
Leverkusen won 2-0 at home in the first leg of the quarterfinals held on the 12th, taking the advantage. Leverkusen confirmed its German Bundesliga victory for the first time in 120 years in the 29th round of the Bundesliga against Werder Bremen, which took place three days later. As it was in both the UEL quarterfinals and the DFB Pokal final, it could aim for up to three gold medals.
Leverkusen operated a 4-2-3-1 formation. After winning the league, he gave rest to the front main players and operated the rotation. Second-line Grimaldo, Birtz, and Teller played on the shik one-top. Third-line players Palacios and Xhaka composed it, and Incapier, Ta, Kosunu, and Stanisic played for the back four. The goalkeeper was Kovar.
Against this, West Ham chose the 4-3-3 formation. Kudus, Antonio, and Bowen were in front, and the midfield was Soucek, Alvarez, and Wardpraus. Cresswell, Aguerd, Zuma, Coufal, and Fabianski were the goalkeepers.
West Ham, which must have won by at least three points to advance to the semifinals, scored a goal in the 13th minute of the first half, sparking a reversal. Antonio, who was penetrating an early cross that Bowen tried to reach the right side of Leverkusen, scored a goal. Leverkusen was still ahead with a combined score of 2-1.
Manager Alonso used the replacement card early in the first half under strong pressure from West Ham. In the 29th minute of the first half, center back Kosunu left the pitch and Topsoba was put in.
Immediately after, the two teams’ benches had a war of nerves. There were several tackles as the players faced off strongly on the pitch. West Ham head coach Billy McKinley was declared off, and the war of nerves spread to the pitch, and the players got tangled up and fought. Antonio approached and interfered with Topsoba’s attempt to deal with a free kick from the Leverkusen side. In the 31st minute of the first half, warnings were given to Antonio of West Ham and Ta of Leverkusen.
West Ham used a replacement card after Ogbonna was put in due to the injury of centre-back Aguerd in the first half extra time.
With both teams finishing the first half without additional points, Leverkusen put Boniface instead of Schique and Frimpong instead of Teller at the start of the second half. Later, in the 23rd minute of the second half, Grimaldo was removed and Adley was put in to strengthen the attack.
In the 38th minute of the second half, Frimpong lost a one-on-one opportunity, and the chance to tie was canceled. In the situation of Leverkusen’s counterattack, Frimpong caught a space pass that Boniface tried to reach the back and advanced. He tried to shoot a right-footed shot, but it went up.
Frimpong recovered his mistake with an equalizer. He shook the net with a left footed shot after entering the penalty box in the 44th minute of the second half. 고소득알바
West Ham then tried to attack, but rather Leverkusen launched a counterattack based on the replacement. Since then, the game has ended without scoring.
With this draw, Leverkusen increased its official record to 44 matches and secured a 3-1 overall score to advance to the semifinals of the UEL. It will continue its challenge to win three gold medals this season.
