Atletico de Madrid vs Bayer Leverkusen - Tayfun Korkut looks to Barcelona for inspiration - 7M sport

Atletico de Madrid vs Bayer Leverkusen - Tayfun Korkut looks to Barcelona for inspiration



Posted Wednesday, March 15, 2017 by PA

Tayfun Korkut hopes Bayer Leverkusen can take inspiration from Barcelona as they attempt to pull off an unlikely Champions League comeback against Atletico Madrid.

The Bundesliga club trail 4-2 from the first leg and, because of the away goals rule, must score at least three times at the Vicente Calderon to have any chance of making the quarter-finals.

Luis Enrique's Barca last week overturned a four-goal first-leg deficit against Paris St Germain and new Leverkusen manager Korkut wants his players to believe they can do something similar on Wednesday.

The Turkish 42-year-old, taking charge of just his second match since replacing Roger Schmidt, told the club's official website: "We're not going to Madrid just to go on a trip. We have to believe in it.

"It is clear that it is a result (the first leg) that makes things complicated for us to go through, but we have seen in the last few days (Barcelona's victory) what can be seen in football.

"We will not be beaten in Madrid, we will go to fight for the tie until the end. We know what result we need to reach the quarters."

The tie will be Leverkusen's third visit to the stadium following a Europa League draw in 2010 and a penalties defeat in the last 16 of the Champions League two years ago.

Their task will be made even more difficult by the absence of a number of players, including 17-year-old midfielder Kai Havertz, who is unavailable because of school exams.

Turkey international defender Omer Toprak will also miss the game in the Spanish capital because of an ankle problem sustained in the weekend draw with Werder Bremen, with Jonathan Tah, Lars Bender and Stefan Kiessling already on the treatment table.

Hakan Calhanoglu continues his four-month suspension from football and defender Benjamin Henrichs is also banned after picking up his third booking of the competition in the first leg.

Goalkeeper Bernd Leno is expected to be available after rupturing nose cartilage at the weekend.

Leverkusen sporting director Rudi Voller knows it will take a momentous effort for his club to stay in Europe.

"We all know it'll be an incredible challenge," he said. "But in games like this the team can regain a huge amount of confidence.

"The situation is difficult, but we have seen a lot in football.

"We want to give a good performance. For this we have to be sure of ourselves and not concede an early goal."

Atletico midfielder Koke is not taking anything for granted despite his side's strong position heading into the second leg.

The LaLiga club, runners-up in the competition in 2014 and 2016, are aiming to reach the last eight for the fourth successive season.

"We have a very important result of the first leg but we cannot trust (it to be enough) and we have to give it all Wednesday," Koke told atleticodemadrid.com.

Atletico will be without defender Filipe Luis and captain Gabi due to suspension after they both received their third yellow cards of the tournament during the first leg at the BayArena.

Centre-back Stefan Savic is a doubt after breaking his nose against Granada at the weekend.



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