The reverse fixture at Bay Arena last week ended 3-2 in favour of the Ligue 1 outfit, courtesy of Lucas Hradecky's early own goal, and two late efforts from Krepin Diatta and Axel Disasi.
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Monaco will be looking to secure their spot in the last-16 of Europa League when they host Bayer Leverkusen in the second leg of their playoff tie at Stade Louis II on Thursday night. The reverse fixture at Bay Arena last week ended 3-2 in favour of the Ligue 1 outfit. An own goal from Lucas Hradecky put the Red and whites ahead inside the opening nine minutes before Leverkusen scored twice through Moussa Diaby and Florian Wirtz to take the lead. But the French club showed great character to level the score courtesy of Krepin Diatta’s 74th-minute effort, before Axel Disasi scored the winner two minutes into the injury time to take advantage in Germany.
Philipe Clement’s men certainly have the upper hand heading into the Principality. Meanwhile the Red and Whites are unbeaten in their last 13 UEFA Cup/ Europa League fixtures played on home soil. Le Rocher are heading into the match on the back of a 2-1 Ligue 1 win away to Brest on Sunday, thanks to goals from Aleksandr Golovin and Myron Boadu. It was their 15th top flight victory of the season, taking their points tally to 50 from 20 games, seven adrift of the leaders Paris Saint-Germain. Monaco have never been eliminated from a two-legged knockout tie in a major European competition (excluding qualifiers) after winning the opening match away from home.
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Leverkusen, on the other hand, missed a golden opportunity to secure a lead in the opening leg, having come from behind to make the score 2-1, but then two late goals from the French outfit meant that the Germans were now on the backfoot. Throughout the 2022/23 campaign, the black and Reds have suffered some disastrous mishaps which have come back to bite them. Xabi Alonso’s side are currently occupying tenth spot in the Bundesliga standings, with just 27 points to their name from 21 games, 11 adrift of the top-six. Die Werkself has a poor record when it comes to reversing the deficit in the second leg, having been eliminated from all two-legged knockout ties(excluding qualifiers) when losing the opening fixture at home.
Monaco and Leverkusen do not have a rich history between them, They have played each other only seven times in the past. Prior to last week’s encounter, all the other meetings were in the UEFA Champions League. Just like the present situation, Monaco have an advantage in the head-to-head record, with four wins to their name, compared to just one for the German club. The black and Reds’ lone triumph came during the Champions League group stage in 2016, when the German outfit put three goals past Monaco without reply in front of their home fans in Bay Arena.
| Key Details | Stats |
|---|---|
| Total matches | 7 |
| Monaco won | 4 |
| Leverkusen won | 1 |
| Draws | 2 |
| Total Monaco goals | 12 |
| Total Leverkusen goals | 8 |
| Biggest Monaco win | 3-0 (2016) |
| Biggest Leverkusen win | 4-0 (1997) |
| Last 5 match-results | Score |
| Monaco beat Leverkusen | 2-3 |
| Leverkusen beat Monaco | 3-0 |
| Monaco draw Leverkusen | 1-1 |
| Monaco beat Leverkusen | 0-1 |
| Monaco beat Leverkusen | 1-0 |
