Bayer Leverkusen is making its mark in the Champions League in its own way. On Tuesday, AC Milan experienced that Xabi Alonso’s team is fun to watch, a bit lucky, and tough to defeat.
Victor Boniface scored the only goal, leading Leverkusen to a 1-0 win in its first Champions League home game in almost two years.
Alejandro Grimaldo made a great backheel pass for Jeremie Frimpong, who shot, and Boniface finished the play with a rebound goal.
Leverkusen also had its share of good fortune. Alvaro Morata missed a close-range header for Milan near the end of the game. Several tight referee decisions could have easily gone in Milan’s favor.
“For me this was a Champions League-mentality game and having this experience and this feeling can be important for the future,” Alonso said.
Milan was unhappy with the referee’s choice not to give Edmond Tapsoba a yellow card for pushing Theo Hernandez in the first half.
They also could have had a penalty when Tapsoba and Tammy Abraham got tangled in the penalty area soon after.
The referee allowed play to continue in added time even after Piero Hincapie made a strong tackle on Milan’s Ruben Loftus-Cheek right at the edge of Leverkusen’s penalty area, which was one of the last moments in a game decided by small margins.
“I felt during the match that the referee didn’t hesitate to go against us. I don’t like to talk about the referees, I don’t want it to be an excuse but we feel these things,” Milan coach Paulo Fonseca told broadcaster Sky.
This match was Leverkusen’s first in the Champions League since a forgettable 0-0 draw with Brugge on Nov. 1, 2022, showing how much has changed for the club since then.
Back at that time, Alonso had only been in charge for less than a month and was finishing up an underwhelming group-stage campaign that started under his predecessor Gerardo Seoane.