Leverkusen go down to Barcelona

To use the old maxim, this was most certainly a game of two halves. In the first, Leverkusen's approach could be summed up rather simply: stack the defense, clutter the box and hope for the best. The second saw a more free-flowing, attacking display from the Germans, who seemed to have needed 45 minutes under their belts to believe they could match the Spaniards.

As the game wore on, Barca played their characteristic possession-based game and pressed around Leverkusen's defensive third, often with three in the front line, forcing the Germans' wingers to drop back accordingly into a five-man defensive row when necessary. Having fewer men in an offensive midfield role stifled the Leverkusen counterattack - which was undoubtedly a key element of their game plan.

It may have been the cold, or perhaps the distance travelled from Spain, but for all their possession Barca weren't quite their incisive selves. However, you nonetheless got the feeling that it was only a matter of time before the right pass stuck and Leverkusen would be a goal for the worse.

And it was Alexis Sanchez who made the breakthrough in the 41st minute after Lionel Messi put a lobbed ball over the off-guard Leverkusen defense. The Chilean took one touch into the box and slotted coolly through the legs of Leverkusen keeper Bernd Leno.

Game opens up

As the second half got underway, it seemed Barcelona might either run away with the match or lock Leverkusen out; however, three hectic minutes changed all that as the Germans opened the second half in the best way imaginable.

The ball found its way down to the Barca goalbox, where the Spaniards failed to make an effective clearance after a number of attempts. Vedran Corluka hit a chip-cross from the right near the byline to the back post where a charging Michal Kadlec leapt over two defenders to head home. 1-1.

But three minutes later, Sanchez nullified the Leverkusen equalizer after being put through by a perfect long, grounded ball from Cesc Fabregas. The youngster got the jump on his marker, rounded Leno and slid the ball in past the right post for his second goal. 2-1.

Close, but not close enough

Despite being a goal down, the attacking incursions seemed to embolden Leverkusen, who finally began pushing higher up the park, probing the Barca defense.

A wonderful attacking movement in the 64th minute culminated in Gonzalo Castro seemingly beating Barca keeper Victor Valdes only to hit the woodwork. Replays would show that Valdes indeed got the slightest of touches on the rolling ball, deflecting it from the open goal.

Substitute Stefan Kiessling also had a decent chance to pull his team level when Castro tucked a neat, curling cross from the left behind the defense to find the tall striker's head; but Kiessling's diving effort directed the ball more or less into Valdes' waiting gloves.

Just as it seemed the scoreline would remain as it was, Messi wrestled off his defender in the middle of the park before offloading to Danni Alves down the right. The Brazilian took a few touches and crossed into the box to reconnect with Messi, who lunged forward to tap the ball into the net. 3-1.

Coming into the match, Leverkusen coach Robin Dutt had admitted that all the cogs were going to have to work in perfect synchrony for his side to get a result against Barca. Unfortunately it didn't quite work out that way.

"The defense was good in the first half, but we were lacking a bit of courage," Dutt said after the game.

"We gave them too much respect and were a bit anxious.

"It was a completely different story in the second half when we played our part in the game and caused Barcelona some problems," he added.

His team must now travel to Barcelona for the second-leg fixture on March 7 knowing they'll need to knock three past Barcelona at the Camp Nou - a stadium at which the Spaniards are not accustomed to losing such crucial games.

Author: Darren Mara
Editor: Andreas Illmer