– Goalkeeper Matej Kovar has been heavily criticised after making a silly mistake that led to Leverkusen’s 0-3 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League last night.
Under coach Xabi Alonso, Leverkusen have never lost to Bayern Munich after 6 matches. However, when entering the European arena, Leverkusen has shown their immaturity. In the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 at the Allianz Arena last night, Leverkusen suffered a 0-3 defeat against the “Gray Tigers”.
In particular, goalkeeper Matej Kovar’s fatal mistake contributed to the sinking of Leverkusen. In the 55th minute, when Leverkusen was 0-1 down and full of enthusiasm for the equalizer, the Czech goalkeeper made his team collapse.
From a very simple hanging ball situation by Joshua Kimmich, goalkeeper Kovar dominated the space. However, this goalkeeper lost the ball, creating an opportunity for Jamal Musiala to cushion the ball into the Leverkusen net, scoring the easiest goal of his career.
Goalkeeper Kovar seemed to collapse after his fatal mistake. Importantly, he poured cold water on Leverkusen’s fighting spirit. After that, Nordi Mukiele lost his composure when he committed a dangerous foul on Kingsley Coman and received a second yellow card and left the field in the 62nd minute. With an advantage, Bayern Munich scored a third goal against Leverkusen.
In the past, goalkeeper Kovar played for Man Utd for three years (2020-2023). This goalkeeper played 53 matches for the Red Devils U21 team but never played for the first team. During this time, Kovar was loaned back to Swindon Town, Burton Albion and Sparta Prague, before being sold to Leverkusen in 2023.
At Euro 2024, the goalkeeper born in 2000 was also trusted to start for the Czech Republic national team. In Leverkusen’s shirt, Kovar was assigned to guard the goal in the Champions League, while veteran goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky started in the Bundesliga.
After the match with Bayern Munich, coach Xabi Alonso did not intend to criticize Kovar. He said: “Today, we were at a disadvantage. This defeat was the fault of the whole team. We did not control the match well and made mistakes.
We need time to overcome our weaknesses. It is not over for Leverkusen. In football, the craziest things can happen. We still believe in miracles.”
The second leg of the Champions League round of 16 between Leverkusen and Bayern Munich will take place at BayArena at 3am on March 12. Leverkusen needs to win by 4 goals to qualify.
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