Bayer 04 Leverkusen suffered a disappointing defeat against Bayern Munich on the road, raising concerns about their advancement to the quarterfinals.

Leverkusen recorded a 0-3 loss to Bayern Munich in the first leg of the Round of 16 of the 2024-2025 UEFA Champions League, held at the Fußball Arena in Munich, Germany, at 5 a.m. (Korea time) on the 6th.

It was a tough away match, but the score difference was greater than expected. Furthermore, this became the first game in which head coach Xavi Alonso lost to Bayern since taking charge of Leverkusen. Leverkusen now faces the burden of needing to make a comeback in the second leg.

Leverkusen lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation against Bayern. Amin Sardar was placed at the forefront, with Alejandro Grimaldo, Florian Wirtz, and Jeremie Frimpong appearing in the second line. In the midfield, Ezequiel Palacios and Granit Xhaka held positions, while the defense was composed of Piero Incapie, Mario Hermoso, Jonatan Ta, and Nordi Mukiele. The goal was guarded by Maciej Kovar.

From the early stages of the match, Leverkusen relinquished control to their opponents. In the 9th minute of the first half, Bayern's Michael Olise delivered a cross, which Harry Kane finished with a header, resulting in an early goal against Leverkusen.

In the 14th minute of the first half, Frimpong seized a good opportunity by intercepting Upamecano's back pass, but failed to convert the equalizing chance due to a save by Manuel Neuer.

In the 22nd minute of the first half, Musiala attempted a header from a corner kick but hit the crossbar, preventing a further concession of goals. Leverkusen struggled throughout the match against their opponent's strong pressure, finishing the first half at 0-1.

In the second half, Leverkusen continued to struggle with mistakes. In the 9th minute of the second half, goalkeeper Kovar mishandled a cross from Kimmich, leading to a mistake, and Musiala calmly pushed it in, making the score 0-2.

To make matters worse, Leverkusen found themselves at a numerical disadvantage in the 17th minute of the second half. Mukiele, who had already received a yellow card, committed a foul during a contest with Coman and received a second warning, resulting in his sending off.

Afterwards, Leverkusen restructured their defensive organization, but in the 18th minute of the second half, Tapsoba pulled Kane during a corner kick situation, and a penalty kick was awarded after a VAR review. Kane calmly converted the penalty, extending the scoreline to 0-3.

Leverkusen attempted to recover until the final moments of the match but finished without scoring, unable to break through the opponent's defense.

Having made many mistakes in this match, Leverkusen needs to seek a turnaround in the second leg. Xavi Alonso, head coach of Leverkusen, noted, "Today, many things worked against us, but ultimately it was our mistakes. Our game management was poor, and we made significant errors. It’s certainly a very disappointing result."

Alonso said, "It may take time to accept this match, but it's not over yet. Many miracles have occurred in football. We will fight until the end to create something next week," indicating that they aim for a miraculous comeback in the second leg at home.

[OSEN = Reporter Jung Seung-woo]