Soccer
Nathan Tella in action for Bayer Leverkusen. Photo by IMAGO
Super Eagles forward Nathan Tella has weighed in on Bayer Leverkusen’s performance following their German Cup defeat to Bayern Munich on Wednesday night, Soccernet.ng reports.
Die Werkself exited the competition at the semifinal stage for the second straight season, this time falling 2-0 at the BayArena to the Bundesliga champions in a keenly-contested affair.
Bayern Munich took control early and made their dominance count in the 22nd minute, when Harry Kane finished off a cross from Jamal Musiala.
The match opened up afterward with both sides creating chances to add to the scoreline, but Bayern were more clinical and sealed the victory in stoppage time through Luis Díaz, booking their place in the final for the first time since 2020. They will now face the winner of the other semifinal between VfB Stuttgart and SC Freiburg.
Soccer Super Eagles star Nathan Tella reflects on Bayer Leverkusen German Cup defeat
Super Eagles forward Nathan Tella made his 20th appearance of an injury-affected season. The 26-year-old had a quiet first half but improved after the break, forcing a save before being substituted in the 77th minute.
Reacting to the result, the Nigerian expressed disappointment after his side’s exit, although he credited Bayern Munich’s quality as a major factor.
“We know we played against maybe the best team in the world,” Tella revealed post-match.
“As a team, we had the opportunity to get into the final, we wanted to do that and I think the first half we were a bit slow. But, the second half I thought we had better performances and created more chances and ultimately it wasn’t enough today.
“We knew that they were going to have a lot of possession. We wanted to try and regain the ball higher as much as we can. I think it was a bit difficult because of their rotation in the middle and their movement because they are a very good team.
“And even if we won the ball, we knew their counter-press was really good. As a team, we knew what to expect but it is different when you are doing it in a meeting and playing a game”, the Super Eagles winger continued.
Bayer Leverkusen have endured another disappointing season and will now turn their focus to securing a Champions League spot. Tella, however, is very optimistic and believes they can achieve that target.
“I think there is no one in the team who would say anything different, we had the opportunity to get to the final and it was disappointing that we were not able to do it, but we still have games in the league to push as high as possible as we can and that’s where the focus now, with recovery tomorrow and we look forward to Saturday,” the Super Eagles star added.
“Of course, it is still our goal. We want to play in the best competition in the world and play against the best teams in the world. Now it is down to us, we have to win these games and we have got the perfect opportunity on Saturday.
“I think as a team we can still be confident, the second half we grew into the game and created more chances and of course still disappointed to concede the first goal right at the end, but I think we would be happy with how we played”, Tella concluded.
With their hopes of silverware over this season, Champions League qualification now remains the major priority for Bayer Leverkusen.
They are currently four points off the final qualifying position and with four league games left this season, they will fancy their chances of sealing a spot, beginning with this weekend’s clash against FC Koln.
Ayomide Oguntimehin
Ayomide Oguntimehin is a CAF-accredited sports journalist and Chief Editor at Soccernet.ng. He has interviewed Super Eagles stars like William Troost-Ekong, Taiwo Awoniyi, Bright Osayi-Samuel, and Ademola Lookman, and is known for breaking major transfer stories.
Ayomide has worked with Sports Brief, Naija News and served as Social Lead Editor at Legit.ng. He has also featured on Goal, TVC News, Sports Mole, and Milan News24. He holds a Master’s degree and is currently pursuing a PhD. Follow Ayomide on X (formerly Twitter): @ayo_oguntimehin
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