He Arsenal of Mikel Arteta left the BayArena alive Leverkusen. A non-existent but awarded penalty on Madueke allowed Havertz (who was returning home) tie in the 90th minute. In a very scarce meeting of the ‘gunners’, They get a 1-1 that gives them an advantage for the return leg in London. In the end it was of little use to Leverkusen to play a game that, on a defensive level, was perfect.
Andrich’s goal (1-0) in Bayer Leverkusen 1-1 Arsenal
The start of the duel was quite taciturn, full of respect. Exchange of long possessions, moments for each team… but few real chances. Until, in the 19th minute, the first warning came suddenly: a shot against the crossbar by Martinelli. Arsenal, out of nowhere and after having given the ball to the rival, pressed the accelerator and with a counterattack put Bayer Leverkusen on notice. But It was the only thing that was out of the norm in a very leaden first half. Arsenal did not show much interest because the game went crazy and Bayer, apart from Kofane, did not cause concern.
The second half, however, started with fireworks at the BayArena: first, a save by Raya from a Terrier header; then, in the subsequent corner kick, a goal from Andrich attacking the far post after a beautiful center from Grimaldo. Hjulmand’s men struck first and took advantage of the set pieces, Arteta’s main weapon.
A ‘deadly’ Arsenal
It was, from there, a match that showed the shortcomings of an Arsenal whose solvency is ‘turning off’ that he showed at the beginning of the season. Although he arrived on a streak of four consecutive victoriesfootball is increasingly scarce in Arteta’s team and the set-piece resource does not always appear. In Germany, in fact, it was the tool that the rival used to knock down the ‘Gunner’ wall.
Havertz goal (1-1) in Bayer Leverkusen 1-1 Arsenal
But Madueke, who had been shining in recent weeks, ‘invented’ a penalty for the tie. He noticed a very slight contact, he went to the ground and the Turkish Meler stung despite the protests of the locals. The VAR, as there was an iota of friction between defense and attacker, decided not to intervene. A maximum penalty that allowed Havertz to tie just before the 90th minute.
The English rescued a tie with just two shots on goal, and they see the return, which will be in London, much more expensive. Leverkusen’s resistance was broken by refereeing that was increasingly difficult to understand.
