After a challenging defeat at the hands of Arsenal, Bayer Leverkusen’s manager reflected on the lessons learned this season.
Bayer Leverkusen’s aspirations for a strong UEFA Champions League run were thwarted on Tuesday night as they succumbed to a 2-0 defeat against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. This outcome sealed a 3-1 aggregate victory for the Gunners, advancing them to the quarterfinals.
Goals from Ebere Eze and Declan Rice, both scored before and after halftime respectively, proved decisive for Arsenal as they capitalized on Leverkusen’s defensive lapses. Following the match, Leverkusen coach Kasper Hjulmand expressed his disappointment regarding the team’s errors. He noted, “In the first half, we made too many mistakes in our build-up situations. Arsenal put a lot of pressure on us, but we didn’t concede many big chances, just some set pieces, and then Eze scored this fantastic goal.”
Hjulmand, who took the reins in September, acknowledged the hurdles faced during a transitional season. “I arrived in September and had 14 new players in the squad. We had a bit of a bumpy start and then we did some very good things,” he added. The coach emphasized the team’s improvement over the season, which included key victories against top opponents, stating, “I think we’ve played better and better – we went to Benfica and won, we went to (Manchester) City and won, and beat Olympiacos 2-0 in the knockout phase play-offs.”
Despite the disappointment of their Champions League campaign, Hjulmand remains optimistic and proud of his team’s growth. He concluded, “I think we can be proud of how much we achieved in a build-up season like this. We also see there’s a difference between us and the very best in Europe and we are aiming for that, so we can get back into this beautiful tournament and try to compete again. That’s our focus.”
