Leverkusen v Arsenal: Gunners relieved in Germany by Gyökeres | OneFootball

In the match that opened the second half of the UEFA Champions League round of 16, this Wednesday, March 11, Bayer Leverkusen and Arsenal drew 1-1, in a game where the 'law of the ex' made itself felt again at the BayArena.

The visitors started by taking control of the game, with Robert Andrich feeling the pressure from the Gunners, being booked with a yellow card just two minutes in for bringing down Viktor Gyökeres - who was not used in the last match. Even so, Christian Kofane created difficulties in the opposite direction and helped the Werkself assert themselves in the game, although David Raya easily saved the long-range shot from the 19-year-old.

As the game opened up, Gabriel Martinelli struck the crossbar of Janis Blaswich at the end of a quick Arsenal move, before Gabriel Magalhães bravely blocked a shot from Jarell Quansah. At halftime, the score remained goalless.

Upon resumption, the hosts' play led to a header from Martin Terrier, which Raya excellently saved. However, the goalkeeper could do nothing from the resulting corner, where Grimaldo's curling cross to the far post found Andrich completely alone to open the scoring in the 46th minute.

The German comfort crumbled when Malik Tillman committed a penalty by sliding into Madueke, and Havertz made no mistake in the 89th minute, despite Blaswich guessing the right side, equalizing the score against the club where he spent a decade.

As the sole leader of the Premier League, Arsenal came from eight wins in as many rounds in the Champions League league phase and did not win for the first time in the ninth match of the current edition, having directly accessed the 'round of 16', unlike Bayer Leverkusen, who qualified through the play-off. The second leg of the duel is scheduled for March 17, Tuesday, at 8:00 PM, at the Emirates Stadium.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.