BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Bayer Leverkusen eased into the Europa League semi-finals after crushing hosts Union Saint-Gilloise of Belgium 4-1 on Thursday for a 5-2 aggregate win that stretched their unbeaten run to 12 straight matches across all competitions.
Xabi Alonso's team proved extremely efficient, needing just 66 seconds for Moussa Diaby to round keeper Anthony Moris and finish a quick move by the Germans to open the scoring.
They added another goal on the break in the 38th with Mitchel Bakker volleying in at the far post before they were gifted a third on the hour courtesy of a big Moris blunder. Under pressure from Bakker, the keeper sent the ball straight into the path of Jeremie Frimpong who only had to kick it into the empty goal.
The Belgians did breath some life into their game, cutting the deficit with Casper Terho's fine shot in the 65th, but could not find another goal despite more pressure Leverkusen made sure they snapped their opponents' nine-game unbeaten run and ended their fairytale maiden run in the competition when Adam Hlozek pounced on a weak Moris save to make it 4-1 in the 79th.
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Soccer–Sevilla punish slapdash Man United to ease into Europa League semisSEVILLA, Spain (Reuters) - Europa League kings Sevilla breezed past Manchester United into the semi-finals of their favourite competition as Youssef En Nesyri scored twice in a dominant 3-0 win on Thursday that secured a 5-2 aggregate triumph.
Read more »
Rashford’s return to training gives Man Utd welcome boostThis comes ahead of the second leg of their Europa League quarterfinal against Sevilla.
Read more »
Man United boost as Rashford, Shaw travel to SevillaMarcus Rashford and Luke Shaw’s recoveries improve the club’s chances in the Europa League.
Read more »
Head of France's top union Berger to step down in JunePARIS (Reuters) - Union leader Laurent Berger, who emerged as the leading voice of the fight against President Emmanuel Macron's pension changes, will step down in June after more than a decade at the helm of one of France's most powerful unions.
Read more »
Soccer-Benfica out to prove they belong in the Champions League, says Schmidt(Reuters) - Benfica's Champions League quarter-final second leg at Inter Milan on Wednesday is an opportunity for the Lisbon club to show they belong in Europe's elite competition, coach Roger Schmidt said.
Read more »
Soccer-Local Egyptian league introduces VAR to Ramadan matchesCAIRO (Reuters) - A local amateur league in Egypt has gained popularity this year following the introduction of a Video Assistant Referee (VAR)-like system to help referees judge soccer games based on recorded images on a laptop.
Read more »