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'Perfect' Leverkusen wins 3-1 at Deportivo to clinch groupPosted: Wednesday March 20, 2002 4:53 PMUpdated: Wednesday March 20, 2002 8:20 PM
LA CORUNA, Spain (AP) -- Bayer Leverkusen swept to a 3-1 victory at Deportivo de La Coruna to clinch first place in Champions League Group D Wednesday. A first-half header by midfielder Michael Ballack, a shot by international teammate Bernd Schneider after the interval and a late header by substitute Oliver Neuville gave the German side 10 points in the group. Deportivo, whose goal came in the second half through substitute international striker Diego Tristan, also has 10 points but finishes in second place head-to-head. Arsenal, which lost 1-0 at Juventus, ends third with seven points and is eliminated. The Italian powerhouse, whose challenge for a place in the quarterfinals ended last week, also finishes with seven. Deportivo coach Javier Irureta's decision to make seven changes from his first-choice side appeared to take its toll as Leverkusen dominated the game. On the quarter-hour mark, Klaus Toppmoeller's side wasted two chances in succession with Croatian striker Thomas Brdaric and then Schneider putting the ball into the side-netting. Deportivo looked vulnerable to the German league leader's swift counter attacks, and in the 26th minute Turkish midfielder Yildiray Basturk spurned an excellent opportunity from close range after Ballack's low cross. It came as no surprise when Ballack gave his side the lead in the 34th minute, the international leaping above Deportivo's Brazilian midfielder Mauro Silva to power a header off the crossbar. Leverkusen's superiority continued and it came close to extending its lead five minutes later when Brdaric sent a fierce long-range drive onto the crossbar. The second half began with Deportivo continuing to struggle. Nine minutes after the break, the more fluid German side added a deserved second. From Ze Roberto's corner, Schneider hit a tame shot from close range but, with the help of a deflection off Deportivo's Argentine midfielder Aldo Duscher, the ball rolled into the net. On the hour, Irureta swapped Duscher and the ineffectual Uruguayan forward Walter Pandiani with Spanish international midfielders Juan Valeron and Sergio Gonzalez. The changes failed to stem the tide and substitute Neuville, who replaced Brdaric five minutes earlier, brought an excellent save from Deportivo goalkeeper Nuno Herlander. The Spanish side pulled a goal back in the 75th minute when a shot by Tristan, who had replaced defender Hector Berenguel five minutes before, was deflected by Diego Placente over goalkeeper Hans-Jorg Butt. Galvanized by the goal, Deportivo began to exert pressure for the first time in search of the goal that would give it first place in the group. But with five minutes remaining, Leverkusen killed off the match when Neuville glanced a header past Herlander from Ballack's cross. Leverkusen coach delighted with 'perfect' performanceCoach Klaus Toppmoeller praised Bayer Leverkusen's "perfect" performance as they eased to a confident 3-1 win over Deportivo Coruna that put them in the Champions League quarterfinals as group winners. "We played an excellent game, and were particularly good in the tactical aspects of play," he said. "This was a crucial game for us and we prepared it very thoroughly having watched a lot of videos of Deportivo and it certainly paid off." After a cagey start, Michael Ballack gave Leverkusen the lead on 34 minutes with a powerful header following a superb pass from the excellent Thomas Brdaric. The Germans then showed the sort of form that has taken them to the top of the Bundesliga by hounding the Spanish side off the ball in midfield and creating constant danger on the flanks. They added a second nine minutes into the second half after Bernd Schneider bundled the ball into the net at the far post after a Ze Roberto corner. Although Diego Tristan pulled one back for Depor, replacement Oliver Neuville wrapped up the win with a fine glancing header four minutes from time. For Toppmoeller his team's display, and in particular the performance of the outstanding Brdaric, was a reflection of their positive attitude to recent matches. "The team is really motivated and tonight's win showed that we are on top form at the moment. Brdaric was really quick and always looked for gaps in the opponents' defense. "Deportivo are a quality side and we showed great patience before we managed to get the first goal." Deportivo coach Javier Irureta said that although he was disappointed with his side's comprehensive 3-1 defeat it would only serve to increase his side's determination in future games. Analyze mistakes "You learn from defeats like this and it has helped me pin-point the weaknesses in the team," he said. "The team fought back to 2-1 but the third goal killed us off and we will now have to analyze our mistakes." But Irureta insisted that qualification for the last eight outweighed the importance of winning the group. "The most important thing was to qualify for the quarterfinals, and we have done that. Last year we won our group and then got knocked out in the quarters, maybe this time we will get through even though we finished second. "Given the strength of all the teams left in the competition I think it makes little difference if you finish first or second." The Depor coach added that he had no preference as regards to who his team face in the last eight. "I don't mind who we get in the draw. All I can say is that our aim is to get further than last season and make the semis." SummaryDeportivo Coruna 1 Bayer Leverkusen 3 -- result Champions League second stage, group D Scorers: Deportivo Coruna -- Diego Tristan 75 Bayer Leverkusen -- Michael Ballack 34, Bernd Schneider 54, Oliver Neuville 86 Halftime: 0-1; Attendance: 23,000 Teams: Deportivo Coruna: 13-Nuno; 24-Hector (9-Diego Tristan 67), 5-Cesar, 4-Nourredine Naybet, 15-Joan Capdevila; 23-Aldo Duscher (21-Juan Carlos Valeron 60), 6-Mauro Silva; 8-Djalminha, 11-Jose Emilio Amasvica; 7-Roy Makaay, 17-Walter Pandiani (16-Sergio 60) Bayer Leverkusen: 1-Joerg Butt; 26-Zoltan Sebescen, 19-Lucio, 5-Jens Nowotny, 35-Diego Placente; 25-Bernd Schneider (6-Boris Zivkovic 90), 10-Yildiray Basturk (15-Jurica Vranjes 88), 13-Michael Ballack; 23-Thomas Brdaric (27-Oliver Neuville 64), 28-Carsten Ramelow, 8-Ze Roberto Referee: Valentin Ivanov (Russia)
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. |
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