Leverkusen too strong for Lens

Bayer 04 Leverkusen made light work of reaching the UEFA Cup quarter-finals, beating RC Lens 3-0 in Germany for a 4-2 aggregate victory over the French side.

Voronin breakthrough
Trailing 2-1 from the first leg last week, Michael Skibbe's team turned the tie around in the 36th minute of this Round of 16 encounter when Andriy Voronin struck. Leverkusen doubled their lead on the night eleven minutes into the second half, through Sergej Barbarez, before Juan's 70th-minute goal iced the cake for the BayArena fans.

Missed opportunities
Chances had fallen to either side by the time Voronin controlled a loose ball and swept it past Lens keeper Charles Itandje; Tranquillo Barnetta had rattled the outside of Itandje's post early on, before Lens's first real counterattack resulted in Olivier Monterrubio racing on to Eric Carrière's pass and being denied by home custodian René Adler.

Taking advantage
Although Leverkusen had the advantage on away goals at half-time, they consolidated their pole position when Bernd Schneider, architect of the previous round's defeat of Blackburn Rovers FC, set up Barbarez to make it 2-0. After Voronin headed Schneider's cross off the inside of a post, Barbarez stroked home the rebound. A Voronin back-heel then forced a save from Itandje, who was subsequently left foundering as defender Juan nodded in Voronin's corner with 20 minutes remaining. For the Ligue 1 club, it was the end of the road while Leverkusen can plan the next stage of their UEFA Cup journey after Friday's quarter-final draw in Glasgow.