The duel between the German and Italian champions offered few highlights. But in Leverkusen there was a more dominant team that was rewarded late in the 90th minute.
Double winners Leverkusen had only lost three of 75 competitive games recently – a splendid statistic that should now be continued in the top Champions League game against the Inter Milan men who had not conceded a goal to date (7-0). And lo and behold: coach Xabi Alonso, who swapped goalkeeper Kovar, Mukiele and Frimpong with captain Hradecky, Arthur and Aleix Garcia after the 2-1 win against St. Pauli, was able to record another success at the end of the day.
The Werkself started briskly, dominantly and powerfully in a 4-2-2-2 system. Inter coach Simone Inzaghi, who had restructured his team to five positions compared to the recent 3-1 win against Parma (Taremi, Carlos Augusto, Frattesi, Zielinski and Darmian played for captain Lautaro Martinez, Dimarco, Mkhitaryan, Barella and the one with the flu Endurance runner Dumfries, who was completely out, saw his protégés swimming in the first few minutes.
Tella and Alupech
And at the same time, lucky: Bayer attacker Tella thundered the ball against the crossbar from a few meters away after a good Frimpong assist (3rd). Grimaldo also tested Sommer in the Northern Italians’ box from a distance (11th), while Taremi, on the other hand, appeared dangerously in the Leverkusen penalty area (12th).
Champions League on Tuesday
Bayer 04 were clearly better and superior, but without developing any (big) chances to make it 1-0. Meanwhile, there was mostly silence in front of Kovar’s box, also because the two Inter strikers Taremi and Thuram acted very inconspicuously.
Mukiele is spot on
The Lombards were also harmless in the second period, and the introduction of leading players Lautaro Martinez and Barella didn’t help. The Rhinelanders continued to dominate in the BayArena. But: apart from a good chance from a tight angle for Frimpong (53′) or a long-range shot from Tah (65′) that went just past, there was little return against the Milanese team, who were sometimes in a tight spot.
Extremely deep Nerazzurri, who also closed the doors with the former Cologne player Bisseck, ensured a manageable final act with hardly any action. It all came down to 0-0. In the 90th minute, however, the Bundesliga team came closer again – and rewarded themselves with the necessary portion of luck with the deserved 1-0 winning goal: After Wirtz’s cross and Grimaldo’s arming, Joker Terrier directed the ball with his heel to the one lurking in the middle Mukiele, who finished straight away and sank the ball into the middle of the net.
The first goal conceded this Champions League season: Yann Sommer.
IMAGO/Chai v Laage
The Milanese were unable to recover from this and suffered their first defeat due to the first goal conceded in this Champions League season – at the same time their first defeat ever in the fourth European duel against the Rhinelanders. In terms of points, Bayer 04 moved into the top third of the table with the Italian champions (13 points each).
Game data
Leverkusen
Inter
Spielinfo
| Stadium | BayArena |
| Viewers | 30.210 |
It continues as follows: Leverkusen has to play FC Augsburg in the Bundesliga (Saturday, 3:30 p.m.). The Champions League doesn’t continue until January 21st (9 p.m.) with the guest game at Atletico Madrid. A day later, Inter have to play in Prague, but in Serie A the defending champions face a comparison with Lazio Rome next Monday (8.45 p.m.).
