5 reasons why Bayer Leverkusen can produce a comeback against Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League
Bayer Leverkusen are against the ropes after a morale-sapping 3-0, UEFA Champions League Round of 16 first-leg loss away to Bayern Munich last week. However, coach Xabi Alonso will be telling his players there are plenty of reasons to believe in a shock comeback at the BayArena. bundesliga.com outlines five ...
Follow Bayern vs. Leverkusen HERE!
1) If memory serves …
Leverkusen don’t have to look back all that far for a time they put Bayern to the sword by a 3-0 scoreline, a result that would take Xabi Alonso’s men into extra-time this evening. During last term’s memorable Bundesliga and DFB Cup double-winning run, the Werkself stunned the record champions at the BayArena to the tune of a 3-0 thumping that took the hosts that February 2024 day five points clear at the top of the German standings.
Bayern’s Josip Stanišić was then on loan at Bayer 04 and it was he who opened the scoring in the game’s 18th minute. Álex Grimaldo added a second five minutes after the break, before Jeremie Frimpong netted a third at the death to send home fans into a frenzy. Of the 11 players who started that game for Leverkusen, 10 are still at the club while all but the injured Florian Wirtz could conceivably line-out for tonight’s game. When giving his pre-match team-talk later, Alonso won’t have to reach far back for inspiration as the 2023/24 UEFA Europa League finalists set about mounting what would be a phenomenal comeback.
Watch: When Leverkusen put three past a stunned Bayern
2) Bayern's wobbles
The men in red may be leading the Bundesliga by eight points as they hit the domestic season’s final straight this season, yet Vincent Kompany’s team have not been flawless during this campaign and Leverkusen will have taken note of some their rivals negative results, especially in European competition.
The six-time European champions shipped four goals in a 4-1 reverse at Barcelona earlier this season while they also went down by 3-0 in Rotterdam to a Feyenoord side that have not been at their best in 2024/25. Last weekend’s eyebrow-raising 3-2 reverse against Bochum will also have given Leverkusen reason to believe that they can hurt Bayern, just as they did when knocking the Bavarian giants out of this season’s DFB Cup at the last 16 stage.
Want more Bundesliga Action?
3) Schick ready to shine
He may not have started any of Leverkusen's previous four encounters against Bayern in all competitions this season, but tonight could well be Patrik Schick's time to shine from the outset against Bayer 04's rivals. The Czech striker is his club's highest goalscorer this term with 16 goals in just 22 Bundesliga appearances and a further six goals in Champions League, DFB Cup and German Supercup combined.
UEFA Euro 2020's joint-top scorer also knows a thing or two about netting dramatic goals in European club competition. The 29-year-old had already scored an injury-time equaliser against Qarabağ in the Europa League last season to keep Leverkusen's lengthy unbeaten run intact and he then pulled off an incredible double in time added on in the return fixture to send Bayer 04 into the compeitition's quarter-finals. A big man (Schick stands at 6'3") for the big moment, the Prague native will be on the prowl in search of chances inside the Bayern box later.
Watch: Bayer's goal machine, Patrik Schick
4) Alonso’s astonishing experience
Istanbul 2005 is forever embedded in the minds of all Liverpool FC fans as one of the greatest-ever fightback feats in the history of the European game. In that year, Alonso was part of a Liverpool side who were 3-0 down at half-time in the Champions League final against an AC Milan team that boasted some of world football’s greatest stars.
The English outfit produced a barely-believable second-half comeback – with Alonso scoring his former team’s third goal on the night – to level the game within seven second-half minutes. From there, the Reds went on to win the trophy on penalties. “The first step is to believe,” Leverkusen’s coach said ahead of tonight’s second leg against Bayern. “We know how difficult it is, but sometimes a difficult situation creates something epic,” the 43-year-old added, with a knowing nod to the past.
5) History calling
Bayer 04 famously won the 1988 UEFA Cup - the final of which was then played over two legs - having lost the first-leg against Espanyol by 3-0 in Spain.
A Sebastián Losada double and a further strike from Miquel Soler had the German side up against it after the teams' first meeting in Barcelona. Indeed, a Leverkusen team captained by Wolfgang Rolff and featuring stars like Cha Bum-kun and Tita appeared down and out when the first-half of the return leg ended scoreless.
Even when Tita gave Bayer the lead on the night in the 57th minute, the comeback didn't appear on. However, Falko Götz's second gave the Bundesliga team hope and when Cha scored to make it 3-0 with nine minutes to go, momentum had dramtically switched for the Werkself. Bayer went on to win a penalty shootout 3-2, with goalkeeper Rüdiger Vollborn performing heroics between the posts, and Leverkusen celebrated their first major European trophy. Could a similar comeback be on the cards down by the banks of the Rhine?
Related news
5 reasons Frankfurt will progress against Ajax
After clinching a crucial 2-1 away in the first leg in Amsterdam, Eintracht are in a good position to see off Ajax in a big UEFA Europa League last-16 tie. Here's why they'll get it done.
The story of Bayern's goalkeeping greats
From Sepp Maier through Oliver Kahn to Manuel Neuer and potentially now Jonas Urbig, bundesliga.com looks at the goalkeepers that have made Bayern Munich Bundesliga giants.
In-form Adeyemi back in Germany fold
The Dortmund winger's terrific form has not been lost on Julian Nagelsmann...