Bayer Leverkusen, led by Piero Hincapie, could not overcome Atalanta and was eliminated from the Europa League

With two major interventions, the Argentine goalkeeper Juan Musso stopped the attempts of Bayer Leverkusenwhere the Ecuadorian defender Piero Hincapie plays, to overcome Atalanta, who withstood the attacks of the German team to win 0-1 thanks to a goal in added time from Jeremie Boga with which he sentenced the pass of the Italian team to the quarterfinals of the Europa League after winning 3-2 in the first leg.

Musso became the man of the match. He didn’t have to intervene many times. In fact, only in a couple did he have to work hard. One in each part and before the same man, Moussa Diaby, who will dream of the South American goalkeeper. Especially with a one-on-one in the second act in which Musso got in the way of what would have been the tie in the tie for the Bayer Leverkusen.

And it is that, with several important casualties, the German team had to carry out a comeback open to anything. The attacking philosophy of both teams predicted a match full of alternatives like in the first leg, although without a couple of important protagonists for the men led by Gerardo Seoan.

Just when they were needed most, two of their biggest men said goodbye to the rest of the season after being injured this week. Above all, the lowering of the helm of Bayer Leverkusen, Florian Wirtzleft the chances of the German squad to reach the quarterfinals very touched.

Without Wirtz, Bayer Leverkusen lost its beacon, one of the young promises of European football who, at 18, already has shown that he can become a top-level figure. In fact, at Transfermarkt, a portal specialized in player evaluation, it already reaches 70 million euros (77,684,950.00 dollars).

But he was also left without playing the Dutch Jeremie Frimpong, the other victim for the remainder of Bayer Leverkusen’s course after falling this week. Both joined the absences of Julien Baumgartlingerthe Ivorian Odilon Kossounou and the scorer Czech Patrick Schickcasualties already known and that also subtracted from the German team.

Opposite, Atalanta did not fall short. Since the beginning of January, due to a depression, Josip Ilicic has not played; and since February Duvan Zapata He is out with a muscle injury.

With this scenario, Bayer Leverkusen entrusted itself to Kerem Demirbay as a guide to replace Wirtz. And, in Atalanta, as in the first leg, louis muriel was in charge of marking ground in the attack zone. The objective of the Colombian, repeat his exhibition of the first leg, in which he signed a double and gave an assist.

While Demirbay failed to emulate Wirtz, Muriel was a constant nuisance during his time on the pitch. Every ball she touched was a danger for Leverkusen. She always chose the best option. Vertical, fast and very dangerous on the counterattack, he only lacked the faith of his teammates, who on several occasions did not accompany Muriel’s plays, always too alone at the peak moment.

During the opening act, Leverkusen only had to worry about supporting the Colombian striker. And he got it. However, he got stuck when it came to creating chances. Without Wirtz, he lost his way, but Diaby was still able to put his team ahead with a shot from inside the area that Argentine goalkeeper Juan Musso saved.

Both were the same protagonists of the clearest occasion of the second half, in which Leverkusen came out much stronger than Atalanta. Moussa, this time in a very clear one-on-one, collided again with the wall Musso, who, with Muriel’s permission, hung the decisive man’s poster for the Italian team.

And it is that, if thanks to Muriel Atalanta achieved a juicy advantage in the first leg, Mussa was the one who sustained the team’s income directed by Gian Piero Gasperini. The Italian team hit in the first ninety minutes and successfully crouched in the seconds to ‘kill’ Leverkusen in a counterattack that Boga did not miss.

For this reason, they will be in the Europa League quarter-finals for the second time in their history: in the 1990/91 edition, they reached that round in the UEFA Cup. Then, Inter crossed his path to end a dream that he hopes will not end before its time, just like it did 31 years ago.

Data sheet:

0-Bayer Leverkusen: Hradecky; Fosu-Mensah (Bellarabi, d. 61), Tah, Tapsoba, Emphasis; Diaby, Palacios (Andrich, m. 61), Aránguiz (Alario, m. 82), Demirbay (Azmoun, m. 61), Bakker; and Adli.

1 – Atalanta: Musso; Hateboer, Tolói (Djimsiti, m. 10), Demiral, Palomino, Zappacosta (Pezzella, m. 79); DeRoon, Freuler; Malinovskyi (Boga, d. 65), Koopmeiners and Muriel (Pessina, d. 79).

Goals: 0-1, m. 91: Vogue.

Referee: François Letexier (France). He showed yellow card to Fosu-Mensah (d. 56) Diaby (d. 90) and Andrich (d. 90) for Bayer Leverkusen.

Incidents: match corresponding to the second leg of the Europa League round of 16 played at Bayer Leverkusen’s BayArena in front of nearly 30,000 spectators. (D)