Bayer Leverkusen produced a dominant performance at the BayArena to secure a 2-0 victory over Slovenian champions NK Celje, extending their winning streak in UEFA Europa League group and league phase matches to seven games.
The result provided new head coach Carles MartÃnez with a solid start to the continental campaign, underlining the 2024 finalists’ ambitions in the competition while extending their current unbeaten run across all competitions to three matches.
Leverkusen established early control, repeatedly threatening the visitors’ goal in the opening exchanges. Martin Terrier struck the post with a long-range effort, while Edmond Tapsoba saw a close-range header denied by Celje goalkeeper Žan-Luk Leban.
The breakthrough arrived late in the first half through an unfortunate defensive mistake. Aleix GarcÃa swung a cross into the penalty area, and Celje midfielder Svit Seslar misdirected his clearance attempt directly into his own net past a helpless Leban.
Despite taking the lead, Leverkusen required defensive vigilance to maintain their advantage before the interval. Goalkeeper Mark Flekken made a critical double save to thwart Benjamin VerbiÄ before producing a tip-over intervention to deny Seslar at the opposite end.
The home side maintained their attacking output into the second half, with Leban pushing substitute Afonso Moreira’s long-range strike onto the crossbar. From the resulting corner, Facundo Medina met the delivery with a crisp volley to double the lead and secure the three points.
The defeat leaves NK Celje with just one win in their past seven matches across all competitions, while Leverkusen take early control of their position in the Europa League standings.
