Leverkusen 1-1 Union Saint-Gilloise: Late Wirtz strike cancels out Boniface opener

Florian Wirtz's superb finish earned Leverkusen a 1-1 draw with Union Saint-Gilloise in their UEFA Europa League quarter-final first leg after Victor Boniface had given the visitors the lead at the BayArena.

Match in brief: Union pegged back late on

Florian Wirtz found the bottom to deny Union SG a first-leg victoryUEFA via Getty Images

There were plenty of opportunities at both ends in a goalless but entertaining first half in Leverkusen. Wirtz dragged a shot narrowly wide for the hosts at one end, before Boniface was denied by a superb one-handed save from home goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky at the other.

Jonathan Tah inadvertently deflected Teddy Teuma's inswinging corner onto his own crossbar as the visitors continued to trouble the Leverkusen back line, but the home side regained their grip on proceedings towards the end of the half. Piero Hincapie flashed a header wide at the far post, before Moussa Diaby drilled a low effort off target in stoppage time.

The deadlock was finally broken six minutes after the restart. Teuma showed skill and composure on the edge of the area to tee up Boniface, who curled the ball around Edmond Tapsoba and past Hradecky to put the visitors ahead.

Undeterred, Xabi Alonso's team continued to attack in numbers and were rewarded with seven minutes remaining. Substitute Sardar Azmoun shrugged off his marker on the edge of the area before laying the ball off to Wirtz, who calmly found the far corner to deny the Belgian outfit a memorable victory.

James Thorogood, match reporter

The only surprising thing about tonight's encounter was that the sides only scored once each. Union SG thought they were going to have an advantage to take home to Belgium, but Wirtz struck late to cancel out Boniface's sixth Europa League goal of the season. The second leg next week has the potential to really raise the pulses.

Reaction 

Xabi Alonso, Leverkusen coach: "It was a very tight game from both sides. After they scored we had to push, but push without doing crazy things because we knew it was the first leg and it would have been fatal to concede a second goal."

Karel Geraerts, Union SG coach: "Both teams would have preferred to win, that's the reality. We can be proud to come away with what is a fair result, in my eyes. Both teams will be excited next Thursday because we're playing for a spot in the semi-finals."

Victor Boniface's emphatic finish had given Union SG the leadGetty Images

Key stats

• Wirtz scored with Leverkusen's first shot on target of the game.
• Union SG remain unbeaten away from home in the UEFA Europa League this season (W3 D2).
• The Belgian side have lost only two of their 11 European matches this term (W6 D3).
• Leverkusen's three-game winning run in the UEFA Europa League comes to an end.

Line-ups

Leverkusen: Hradecky; Tapsoba, Tah, Hincapie; Frimpong, Palacios (Demirbay 46), Andrich, Bakker; Diaby (Hlozek 86), Wirtz, Adli (Azmoun 67)

Union SG: Moris; Kandouss, Burgess, Van Der Heyden; Nieuwkoop, Lynen (El Azzouzi 80), Lapoussin, Amani, Teuma; Vertessen (Puertas 75), Boniface (Nilsson 89)