September 19, (THEWILL) – Bayer Leverkusen made a strong start to their UEFA Champions League campaign, defeating Feyenoord 4-0 at De Kuip on Wednesday night. The German side continued their impressive away form in European competitions but lost only one of their last 11 away matches.
The visitors took control early, with Florian Wirtz opening the scoring after just five minutes. Wirtz capitalised on a mistake by Ramiz Zerrouki and scored from outside the box. Leverkusen extended their lead on the half-hour mark when Alejandro Grimaldo converted a cross from Jeremie Frimpong, set up by Victor Boniface’s clever pass.
Wirtz added his second goal with a well-executed volley from another Frimpong cross. The young German midfielder became the first player from his country to score twice on his UCL debut. Leverkusen’s fourth goal came from an own goal by Feyenoord goalkeeper Timon Wellenreuther, who deflected Edmond Tapsoba’s header into his net.
Feyenoord showed more fight in the second half but was unable to score. Antoni Milambo came close with a backheel attempt, while Ayase Ueda had a goal disallowed for offside. Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso used the opportunity to rest key players ahead of their upcoming Bundesliga fixture.
The defeat was a rare home loss for Feyenoord, who had only been beaten once in their 18 European matches at De Kuip. Leverkusen’s convincing victory sets a strong tone for their UCL campaign, while Feyenoord will need to regroup for their next European fixture when they clash with Girona.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
