Bayer Leverkusen sealed their passage to the Champions League Round of 16 on Tuesday night, holding Olympiacos to a 0-0 draw in the second leg of their Knockout Phase Play-off at the BayArena in Leverkusen. Having won the first leg 2-0 in Greece courtesy of a Patrik Schick double, Kasper Hjulmand's side comfortably progressed 2-0 on aggregate, never truly troubled by their Greek opponents across 90 minutes of largely uneventful football.
The match was a low-quality affair that reflected Leverkusen's comfortable position in the tie. With the aggregate advantage firmly in their pocket, the German club showed little urgency to push forward, content to manage the game. Olympiacos, managed by Jose Luis Mendilibar, needed to overturn a two-goal deficit but rarely looked capable of doing so. Possession was evenly split at 53.3% to 46.7% in favour of the Greek side, but neither team generated much in the way of clear-cut chances, with both sides managing just seven shots apiece and only one on target each.
The first notable incident came around the 40th minute when Alejandro Grimaldo thought he had found the net for Leverkusen, only for his effort to be correctly chalked off for offside. The only booking of the match followed shortly afterwards, with Olympiacos defender Lorenzo Pirola picking up a yellow card right before half-time at the 45th minute. The opening 45 minutes otherwise offered little to excite the 30,210 supporters inside the BayArena.
The second half brought a moment of concern for Leverkusen when Ibrahim Maza picked up an injury in the 56th minute and had to be replaced by young substitute Ernest Poku. The enforced change, however, nearly produced a moment of brilliance. Around the hour mark, Grimaldo struck the crossbar with a fierce effort following a slick one-two combination with Poku, the closest either side came to breaking the deadlock throughout the entire contest.
Leverkusen lined up in a 3-4-2-1 formation with Blaswich in goal, a back three of Tapsoba, Andrich, and Quansah, wing-backs Vazquez and Grimaldo flanking midfielders Palacios and Garcia, with Hofmann and Maza behind lone striker Schick. Olympiacos deployed a 4-3-3 with Tzolakis guarded by Rodinei, Retsos, Pirola, and Ortega, a midfield trio of Mouzakitis, Hezze, and Garcia, and an attacking trident of Martins, Taremi, and Chiquinho.
With the aggregate score remaining 2-0, Leverkusen advance to the Champions League Round of 16, where their opponents will be determined by the draw scheduled for February 27. For Olympiacos, the result marks the end of their European campaign for this season, having failed to register a single goal across both legs of the play-off tie. The Greek club's inability to create meaningful scoring opportunities over 180 minutes underscored the gulf in quality between the two sides.
Leverkusen's progress into the last 16 extends what has been an impressive European campaign under Hjulmand. The BayArena faithful will now turn their attention to Thursday's draw, hoping for a favourable opponent as they seek to continue their continental adventure deep into the spring.
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