Bayer Leverkusen got their Champions League campaign back on track with a 5-0 home win over RB Salzburg on Tuesday, with Florian Wirtz scoring twice and the visitors having goalkeeper Alexander Schlager to thank for avoiding an even bigger defeat.
Match Report
Leverkusen, beaten 4-0 at Liverpool in their last game, raced into an early lead with Wirtz scoring from the penalty spot in the eighth minute and Alejandro Grimaldo netting from a free kick three minutes later.
Wirtz scored again on the half-hour as Leverkusen threatened to run riot and Patrik Schick added a fourth goal 16 minutes after the break.
Substitute Aleix Garcia rounded off the win 18 minutes from time, just four minutes after entering the pitch.
Leverkusen return to winning ways, having failed to pick up three points in their last two matches in the competition.
It moves them up to 13th on 10 points, while Salzburg remain on three points in 30th after suffering their fourth defeat in five matches.
Data Debrief: Wirtz shows dazzling promise
Leverkusen’s Wirtz scored his 17th goal in major European football tonight (12 in UEFA Europa League, 5 in UEFA Champions League) – at the age of 21, only Erling Haaland (23), Kylian Mbappe (21) and Ronaldo (20) have scored more before their 22nd birthday, with Wirtz drawing level with Lionel Messi tonight.
He has scored five Champions League goals in his five appearances so far for Bayer Leverkusen, the most ever goals scored by a German player in their first five games in the competition.
He was integral to what was Leverkusen’s joint biggest win in their major European football history, also registering 5-0 victories in November 1994 against Budapest Honved and in December 2007 against Zurich, both in the UEFA Cup.
Line-ups
Leverkusen XI: Xhaka, Alejandro Grimaldo, Robert Andrich, Tah, Schick, Exequiel Palacios, Tapsoba, Kovar, Jeremie Frimpong, Piero Hincapié, Florian Wirtz
Subs: Hradecky, Lomb, A.García, Nathan Tella, Arthur, Artem Stepanov, Francis Onyeka, Ben Hawighorst
Salzburg XI: Alexander Schlager, Aleksa Terzic, Amar Dedic, Kamil Piatkowski, Lucas Gourna-Douath, Samson Baidoo, Mamady Diambou, Karim Konaté, Bobby Clark, Oscar Gloukh, Moussa Yeo
Subs: Takumu Kawamura, Mads Bidstrup, Nicolás Capaldo, Bryan Okoh, Dorgeles Nene, Daouda Guindo, Petar Ratkov, Hendry Blank, Stefan Bajcetic, Adam Daghim, Salko Hamzic, John Mellberg