Europa League Review: Stuttgart And Leverkusen Into Next Round

While these two sides are at polar opposites of the Bundesliga table, they’ve both managed to qualify top of their groups for the next round of the Europa League. Stuttgart had a tough match away to Young Boys of Switzerland, while Leverkusen travelled to Rosenborg in Norway.

BSC  Young Boys 4 – 2 VfB Stutgart

The name may sound a little bit suspicious, but Young Boys really have impressed this season in European competition. They entered the Europa League after losing against Tottenham in a Champions League qualifier, but they put up a hell of a fight and they were never going to be easy pickings at home, and especially not for Stuttgart. David Degen – whose twin brother Philipp Degen lined up for Stuttgart  – opened the scoring just before half-time. Stuttgart responded in the second half with goals from Pavel Pogrebnyak and Sven Schipplock, who has only played a single Bundesliga game for Stuttgart in his career. Despite their resurgence, Stuttgart were made to suffer by the home side. With just 12 minutes left on the clock, Young Boys scored three goals and roundly beat their German opposition. Scott Sutter and a late Emmanuel Mayuka brace sent Stuttgart packing. The loss has no effect though on Stuttgart’s Europa League group position. They’ll still finish top of the group, and their qualification for the next round has been booked.

Rosenborg 0 – 1 Bayer Leverkusen

In what was one of the less exciting games of the calendar year, Leverkusen travelled to Rosenborg to secure their Europa League qualification. Over their five Europa League group games, Leverkusen have conceded just a single goal, so the odds were always in their favor here despite a trip up to Norway. Sidney Sam lifted his side to three points with another goal for the highlight reel. Leverkusen are top of their table with 11 points, four ahead of holders Atletico Madrid and Greek side Aris Salonika, which means their qualification at the top of their group is sealed.