LEVERKUSEN, GERMANY — Bayer Leverkusen and Olympiacos couldn't be separated Tuesday night at BayArena, playing out a goalless draw in a match that featured genuine chances at both ends but ultimately rewarded neither side. The 0-0 result came before the home crowd as both defenses held firm through 95 minutes of competitive action.
Neither team wasted time getting into the game. Jonas Hofmann forced Olympiacos goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis into an early stop in the 4th minute, and Patrik Schick twice went close in the opening exchanges — first with a header from the center of the box, then with a left-footed effort from distance that drifted wide. Olympiacos responded with Chiquinho testing the frame from outside the box in the 8th minute, though his effort sailed high and wide.
The first half settled into a physical, foul-heavy rhythm after those early flurries. Both sides traded free kicks across the midfield, with Dani García drawing the ire of officials twice before the break. Leverkusen's Ibrahim Maza and Alejandro Grimaldo tried to build through the middle, but Olympiacos defended compactly and limited clear-cut opportunities. The half ended goalless with no added time, a relatively quiet conclusion to what had been a scrappy 45 minutes.
Leverkusen came out sharper after the restart, but it was Olympiacos who created the first real chance of the second half. Gelson Martins got on the end of a Mehdi Taremi pass in the 50th minute and forced Janis Blaswich into a diving save in the bottom left corner — the clearest opportunity of the match to that point. The visitors looked dangerous on the counter, and Leverkusen's defense had to stay alert.
The match's most dramatic moment arrived in the 62nd minute when Grimaldo's left-footed strike from a tight angle on the left rattled the crossbar. The ball stayed out, and Olympiacos survived. Leverkusen pushed harder from there, with Robert Andrich heading just over from close range off a corner in the 75th minute. Schick had one final chance deep in stoppage time, but his left-footed shot from the center of the box slid just wide of the post.
Leverkusen finished with the edge in attacking pressure, generating seven corners to Olympiacos's six. Blaswich made one save of note on the night, while Tzolakis was called into action more regularly, finishing with multiple stops to preserve the clean sheet. Both goalkeepers were largely untroubled for long stretches, a testament to how well each backline organized.
Tzolakis was the standout individual performer, reading the game well and commanding his area with confidence throughout. Grimaldo was Leverkusen's most dangerous outlet, combining with Ernest Poku — who came on as a second-half substitute — to create the crossbar moment and several threatening runs down the left flank. For Olympiacos, Taremi worked tirelessly as a focal point up front before being replaced in the 66th minute by Ayoub El Kaabi.
In the end, a draw felt like a fair reflection of a match where both teams showed defensive resolve and moments of attacking quality without ever finding the decisive touch. Grimaldo's crossbar and Schick's late miss will linger as the moments that defined Leverkusen's night, while Tzolakis's composure in goal kept Olympiacos level when it mattered most.