{"id":13041,"date":"2026-03-16T22:05:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T22:05:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=13041"},"modified":"2026-03-18T00:40:50","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T00:40:50","slug":"champions-league-spoiler-alert-its-another-must-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=13041","title":{"rendered":"Champions League Spoiler Alert: It\u2019s another must-win!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

And so to the Stadium of Stone for the second leg of our Champions League Round of 16 tie against Bayer 04 Leverkusen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Few will disagree that Die Werkself proved to be an unexpected handful in the first leg. Nonetheless, Kai Havertz\u2019s 89th-minute penalty at his old stomping ground left things even-steven at 1-1. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mood from the Leverkusen camp is that they were close to pulling off \u2018a big coup\u2019 last week, and that they can exploit the pressure on us to win at the Ems. They will treat the game like a cup final.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kasper Hjulmand<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leverkusen\u2019s Danish gaffer, Kasper Hjulmand, got an early start in coaching after injury cut short his playing career at 26. His first appointment was at Lyngby before leading Nordsj\u00e6lland to its first Danish league title in 2011-12. This led to him being hired as Thomas Tuchel\u2019s successor at Mainz in the Bundesliga while still in his early thirties. However, it didn\u2019t work out, and he lasted less than a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a spell back at Nordsj\u00e6lland, he was appointed national team manager. He led Denmark to the semi-finals of the 2020 Euros, the 2022 World Cup finals in Qatar and then to the 2024 Euros, where Denmark was eliminated in the first knockout round, at which point he resigned. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He returned to club management last September after Leverkusen booted out Xabi Alonso\u2019s successor, Erik ten Hag, after just three games, the Dutchman having created a toxic atmosphere at the club. Once dipped in the Old Toilet, there is something that can never be shaken off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alonso\u2019s double-winning team was broken up with the sales of its key players, Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong, Jonathan Tah and Granit Xhaka, plus the loan of Piero Hincapi\u00e9 to us. With the \u20ac165 million trousered from Liverpool for Wirtz and Frimpong, Leverkusen brought in 18 new players last summer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the exception of three goalkeepers, the veteran defender Lucas V\u00e1zquez, picked up from Real Madrid on a free, and 25-year-old French international Lo\u00efc Bad\u00e9, acquired from Sevilla for \u20ac25 million, all were under 23. Hjulmand\u2019s task has been to pick up the pieces left by ten Hag\u2019s departure and meld young talent not of his choosing into a team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Dane prefers to set up in a 3-4-2-1, as did Alonso, although he started with a 4-2-2-2 in a few recent league matches before reverting to 3-4-2-1 against us last week and against Bayern Munich in the league on Saturday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He instructs his team to defend aggressively and to control the tempo of the game through possession. Leverkusen ranks second in the Bundesliga this season for tackles won, and only Bayern Munich surpasses it for share of possession, passes and successful passes. Hjulmand also concentrates heavily on set-pieces. We observed all of these tactical traits in the first leg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The opposition<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mark Flekken, acquired from Brentford in the summer for  \u20ac12 million, would be the first-choice glove butler, but he damaged his knee ligaments in January. He is back in training, but Janis Blaswich, who is 34 and has spent much of his career on a bench or playing in lower leagues, will likely continue to deputise. He has kept eight clean sheets in 16 games, but had VAR to thank at the weekend for a couple of errors not proving more costly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the lanky Bad\u00e9 also out due to a hamstring injury sustained in February, the back three is likely to consist of the uncompromising club captain Robert Andrich, a 19-cap Germany international who scored the goal in the first leg, Jarell Quansah, bought from Liverpool in the summer for \u20ac35 million (reportedly the deal includes an \u20ac80 million buy-back clause that the Scousers are considering triggering), and Edmond Tapsoba, a 60-cap Burkina Faso international who came through the ranks of the Portuguese club Vit\u00f3ria Guimar\u00e3es.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aleix Garc\u00eda, who has made two starts in 15 call-ups for Spain and was at Manchester City before being released on a free in 2020, will anchor the midfield alongside Argentina World Cup winner Exequiel Palacios. The Argentine provides the muscle and the Spaniard the passes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Palacios\u2019s younger compatriot, Equi Fern\u00e1ndez, another summer signing, from Al-Qadsiah in the Saudi Pro League, is an option from the bench. Malik Tillman, a German-born US international who came through Bayern Munich\u2019s youth ranks and was Leverkusen\u2019s joint most expensive summer signing, at \u20ac35 million from PSV, started the season in the double pivot alongside Garcia, but Hjulmand has since moved him upfield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alejandro Grimaldo, who impressed in the first leg and is a product of Barcelona\u2019s La Masia, should be at left wing-back after missing the weekend league game against Bayern Munich through suspension. He plays a versatile role, dropping into a traditional left-back position when Leverkusen lose possession but functioning more like a ten when they have the ball. He is also a dangerous set-piece taker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grimaldo\u2019s return will likely mean that the mercurial Ernest Poku, a 22-year-old with 21 Netherlands U-21 caps and who arrived from AZ Alkmaar in the summer, will revert to the right flank, and 18-year-old Montrell Culbreath, the highly regarded Germany U-19 international who has come up through Leverkusen\u2019s youth ranks, will drop to the bench.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nathan Tella, who played for our U-18s a decade back, was excluded from Leverkusen\u2019s nominated CL squad because of long-term injury, as was fellow winger, the Morocco international Eliesse Ben Seghir, bought from Monaco in the summer for \u20ac32 million. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet, Hjulmand still has plenty of attacking talent at his disposal. Preeminent among it is Ibrahim Maza. The 20-year-old Algeria international playmaker was bought from Hertha Berlin in the summer for \u20ac12 million. Atl\u00e9tico Madrid is reportedly offering triple that to take him to the Metropolitano this summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alongside him will likely be Tillman, reprising the attacking midfield partnership Hjulmund employed in the first leg. The Dane can also call on 33-year-old Jonas Hoffman, a holdover from Alonso\u2019s double-winning squad, who had a few call-ups to the Germany national team in the early 2020s. The 29-year-old Frenchman Martin Terrier, another Alonso-era winger, is also available, having recovered from a kick on the ankle that earned Bayern\u2019s Nicholas Jackson a red card on Saturday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leading the attack will be either Patrik Schick, the Czech international who is Leverkusen\u2019s leading goalscorer this season with 13 in all competitions despite an injury-interrupted campaign, or Christian Kofane, the 19-year-old Cameroon international who gave Saliba and Gabriel some grief in the first leg. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leverkusen unearthed Kofane at Albacete in La Liga 2. They will surely recover the \u20ac5 million they paid for him, and more. The chance for a significant return from Schick is diminishing. Many of Europe\u2019s top clubs, including ours, have reportedly considered him since he joined from Roma in 2020. However, he turned 30 in January, and the big-money interest is waning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our visitors come into Tuesday\u2019s game after a chaotic 1-1 draw at home to Bayern Munich on Saturday. Vincent Kompany\u2019s league leaders had two players sent off, and two goals disallowed by VAR for handball, yet still equalised before what Leverkusen thought was a stoppage-time winner was ruled out by VAR for a narrow offside. The fact that Bayern\u2019s Luiz Diaz was sent off after receiving a questionable second yellow for diving and won the man of the match award in a game where either side could have won or lost 4-1 tells you everything you need to know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The draw was Leverkusen\u2019s fifth in their past six matches, but they haven\u2019t lost since being beaten by Union Berlin in the Bundesliga in mid-February. They sit sixth in the Bundesliga, 22 points behind Bayern but seven clear of Eintracht Frankfurt in seventh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Arsenal<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jurri\u00ebn Timber has joined Mikel Merino and Martin \u00d8degaard off-games, but Leandro Trossard is available again. So is Ben White. Cristhian Mosquera replacing Timber on Saturday suggests that Benny Blanco isn\u2019t yet match-fit enough to start. I suspect Calafiori will retain his starting place, with Hincapi\u00e9 saved for closing out duty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Havertz or Viktor Gy\u00f6keres up front is the other question. There will also be a clamour to start Max Dowman after his magical moments against Everton. I expect Arteta to start his tried-and-trusted seniors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Raya<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mosquera, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zubimendi, Rice, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saka, Eze, Martinelli<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gy\u00f6keres<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The game is, self-evidently, a must-win: the loser goes home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bayern\u2019s scouting notes for last Saturday\u2019s game (no stone left unturned here at Castle Ned!) said that Leverkusen possessed enough quality to cause any opponent problems but has shaky periods, and the contest would come down to which team could bring their strengths to bear more effectively. The same will be true on Tuesday evening. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet, if we control the game and dictate the tempo, we should be able to secure a 2-0 win to progress to a quarter-final against either Bodo\/Glimt or Sporting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enjoy the game, \u2018holics, near and far.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

And so to the Stadium of Stone for the second leg of our Champions League Round of 16 tie against Bayer 04 Leverkusen.  Few will disagree that Die Werkself proved to be an unexpected handful in the first leg. Nonetheless, Kai Havertz\u2019s 89th-minute penalty at his old stomping ground left things even-steven at 1-1.  The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13041"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13041"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13041\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13046,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13041\/revisions\/13046"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13041"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13041"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13041"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}