UEFA Europa League 2023/24 Season

[Velvet78]

That's a good point
Bayern will focus on the Europa League now, and the chances are excellent now, everything is favorable for the German team  

--> Liverpool practically disqualified (needing a miracle against Atalanta)
--> They've already won their first game against West Ham, and have a good two-goal advantage
--> The biggest problem would be Milan, who are struggling at the moment as they lost to Roma in the first match

The team just can't think they've already won and underestimate their opponents

Yeah they can focus on the Europa League easier from now on. Xabi Alonso has had 3 titles to win potentially and he has won one of them already. Now there are DFB Pokal and the Europa League left. 

Actually I see DFB Pokal easy to achieve for them as well because of not having a tough opponent. Therefore they need to continue making a really big effort for the Europa League title now. As long as they play like in the first leg of West Ham there is no reason for not to see them as the champions at the end.    In addition even if Liverpool save themselves from this nightmare I still see Leverkusen's chance higher to win the title.

[QueenVera]

Leverkusen became the new hope of some people after they established themselves as winners in their domestic league the bundes league, and are now in the quarterfinals, beating West Ham United in leg 1 with a 2-0 result. And we just have to wait for the second leg and I'm pretty sure Leverkusen can win the match against West Ham in the second leg even though it's on West Ham United's home turf, of course people who think that this is their luck are too naive with the efforts made by Xabi Alonso and also the Bayern leverkusen squad, they find it difficult to admit that Xabi really has the capability as a coach today who can bring hope, yes if you can win three championships it can be said to be a treble even if not with the Champion.

Strangely Liverpool are getting praised the worse, we see that Liverpool rise but they themselves break that hope for us, I also did not expect Liverpool to lose to Atalanta, Klopp seems to be losing a lot of trophies this season after failing in the English premier league because of losing to Crystal Palace and losing also in the Europa League by Atalanta, I thought before Klopp's departure would give a present to Liverpool as a winner in one of the leagues to save his last trophy but in fact it was just a hope.

Currently, Leverkusen's consistency had put them in the top contending spots for the Bundesliga title. And it's so satisfying that with just few games games to the end of the season, there has finally been change of hands this season. Definitely they held onto the pressure for a while and for Leverkusen, they were not resilient in pursuing that major aim. Alonso and his squad aren't giving up and weekly they put up a whole different energy towards that trophy race.

 Comparing Xabi's abiliy based on his performances with his team, it'll be fair to admit his superiority in skillset. Leverkusen when Xabi took over had to start from scratch to build up to where they are now. So far Xabi, he has been a good boss and his methods have worked perfectly for Leverkusen. One would wonder how he managed to put up such feat for the team considering the spot he picked them from. It's one quality that can definitely be found in a good manager.
 
 Leverkusen have been impressive in all rounds and it's not surprising that they're now better than some already grounded teams. It only means that Xabi has a unique managing quality which can be of essence in bigger teams too. I believe he's still got good plans for the German team, which will still be manifested good. In the Europa League, there's been top contending teams from the start till the current stage of the contest.

 Even though days back, the playoffs stage was concluded and there we saw few teams earn advancement tickets. Well from the beginning of the tournament, we know that it'll only be the tough teams that'd survive. Also predicting the winner this season would be hard as there are a number of tough teams to pick from. The highest we can do is to just analyze these teams based on their overtime performances this season and bringing that in the picture, the highest probable winner would be Leverkusen, then Liverpool and any other team behind. In essence it's safe to say that if the draws are favourable, then Liverpool would battle with Leverkusen in the final game of the tournament.

[adultcrypto]

...They'll focus there with their minds at ease after Bundesliga title...

That's a good point
Bayern will focus on the Europa League now, and the chances are excellent now, everything is favorable for the German team  

--> Liverpool practically disqualified (needing a miracle against Atalanta)
--> They've already won their first game against West Ham, and have a good two-goal advantage
--> The biggest problem would be Milan, who are struggling at the moment as they lost to Roma in the first match

The team just can't think they've already won and underestimate their opponents

The poll attached to this thread may not contain the team that will finally win the trophy this season. It is becoming clearer by the day that Bayern Leverkusen and Atalanta are now the major contenders yet both were not mention in the poll but just lumped under others. This is not a mistake though because no one saw them coming and even if someone predicted that both teams would be serious teams in the competition, I do not think anybody will believe that.

My guess is that Bayern Leverkusen will win the trophy to make it two trophies in the bag for Xavi Alonso, the Liverpool legend who have performed so well this season.

[Google+]

I scrazy how in a week or weekend all can change in the world of football, for me before this week i think the oods to become champion of this tournament was clearly in favor of Liverpool and way ahead of the others, but now the favorite contender to win is Leverkusen by far.

Also we have to keep an eye on Atalanta and Rome/Milan i think. The final is only one game and everything can happen there.

Not only you, maybe we are all here experiencing the same thing as you, besides Leverkusen, Liverpool are of course favourites for all of us to win the Europa League before they were beaten by Atlanta in the first leg, Liverpool's chances of turning things around in the second leg are of course still there but I think it is very unlikely to happen, so at the moment all of us are starting to doubt Liverpool can win the Europa League and in the end tend to make Atlanta and Leverkusen are favourites to play in the final, for Leverkusen, I wouldn't have any doubts if they can reach the final round of the season and I think they deserve it.

While Atlanta, of course we should doubt them, indeed beating Liverpool at Anfield is an extraordinary achievement but it does not mean that it will make them favourites to win, I think compared to Atlanta of course Milan in my opinion more deserved to reach the final, at the moment Milan is indeed in a condition of being behind with 1-0 goals on aggregate from Roma,  But compared to Liverpool, of course, their chances of a comeback in the second leg are more likely.

[Republikcoin.com]

It would be a matter of pride if Bayer Leverkusen would also win the UEL trophy because it seems like their strong rival Liverpool is not that convincing. Liverpool just suffered a defeat in the EPL against a mid-table team and also suffered a defeat against Atalanta, so it is very likely that Liverpool can be eliminated by Atalanta in their second meeting and Bayer Leverkusen will not have any difficult obstacles in winning the UEL trophy.

I will not immediately assume that it will be easy for Bayer Leverkusen even though the performance displayed by Bayer Leverkusen has been quite extraordinary this season. Because we all also need to see what things Liverpool will improve in the second leg, even though Liverpool has recently lost to a team that they should have won easily. I also don't know what is wrong with Liverpool now so that the team can lose a lot to Atalanta and also lose again to a mid-table team in the match in the Premier League yesterday.

[poodle63]

It would be a matter of pride if Bayer Leverkusen would also win the UEL trophy because it seems like their strong rival Liverpool is not that convincing. Liverpool just suffered a defeat in the EPL against a mid-table team and also suffered a defeat against Atalanta, so it is very likely that Liverpool can be eliminated by Atalanta in their second meeting and Bayer Leverkusen will not have any difficult obstacles in winning the UEL trophy.

I think losing 3-0 at Anfield in the UEL was a big shock to Liverpool. This week, they lost at home in the Premier League match. 2 defeats in a row caused great demoralization in the team. That's why their chances in the match against Atalanta are very low.

It might be klopp who burdened with the result achieved by liverpool against atalanta at anfield. Klopp decides to start salah from the bench which is a blunder for liverpool. I see no chance owned by liverpool to win the game if atalanta will be once again building another big wall.

Liverpool must have fully played offensive in the second leg or it will be dropped out from europa league soon. I expect nothing from the second leg. The gap is too big and away game.

Perhaps, situation will be worsening with atalanta adds more goals against liverpool. Liverpudlians shall go away from their devide to unwatch the second leg.

[Asiska02]

It would be a matter of pride if Bayer Leverkusen would also win the UEL trophy because it seems like their strong rival Liverpool is not that convincing. Liverpool just suffered a defeat in the EPL against a mid-table team and also suffered a defeat against Atalanta, so it is very likely that Liverpool can be eliminated by Atalanta in their second meeting and Bayer Leverkusen will not have any difficult obstacles in winning the UEL trophy.

In Liverpool’s match that they lost against Crystal Palace in the premier league, if you’ve observed the match very well, you would have seen that Klopp did not use their best players in that match and had to bench them, this was because he wanted them to be fit and injury free for their second leg match this week against Atalanta after losing 3-0 to them at Anfield last week. If this is what Klopp is really looking at that he lost the premier league game and title hopes after losing to Crystal Palace, I don’t think they will take it lightly with Atalanta when they meet this week. They will do anything within their power to beat them and qualify for the semifinals of the Europa League competition, if they don’t, it means they’ve failed woefully which will make the team feel disappointed and demoralized for the remaining of the season.

[reagansimms]

It would be a matter of pride if Bayer Leverkusen would also win the UEL trophy because it seems like their strong rival Liverpool is not that convincing. Liverpool just suffered a defeat in the EPL against a mid-table team and also suffered a defeat against Atalanta, so it is very likely that Liverpool can be eliminated by Atalanta in their second meeting and Bayer Leverkusen will not have any difficult obstacles in winning the UEL trophy.

In Liverpool’s match that they lost against Crystal Palace in the premier league, if you’ve observed the match very well, you would have seen that Klopp did not use their best players in that match and had to bench them, this was because he wanted them to be fit and injury free for their second leg match this week against Atalanta after losing 3-0 to them at Anfield last week. If this is what Klopp is really looking at that he lost the premier league game and title hopes after losing to Crystal Palace, I don’t think they will take it lightly with Atalanta when they meet this week. They will do anything within their power to beat them and qualify for the semifinals of the Europa League competition, if they don’t, it means they’ve failed woefully which will make the team feel disappointed and demoralized for the remaining of the season.

I think Klopp only made a small rotation in the line up that was deployed when Liverpool played against Crystal Palace, Liverpool's squad was still dominated by core players. It is impossible for Klopp to gamble in an important match because Liverpool also really needs a win to top the standings. The defeat against Crystal Palace was due to Liverpool not being able to take advantage of the opportunity to score a goal, after Eberechi Eze put Crystal Palace ahead in the 15th minute, Liverpool still had plenty of time to make the score equal again, but not a single opportunity was successfully converted into a goal.

Behind by three goals in the first leg and this is a tough challenge for Liverpool in the second leg, apart from having to try to break into Atalanta's goal four times to make a comeback and at the same time get a ticket to the semifinals, Liverpool will also be under pressure because the match will be played at Atalanta headquarters. Atalanta will not let Liverpool take away the ticket to the semifinals which is almost theirs, the results of the first leg will make Atalanta players even more motivated to knock Liverpool out of EUL.

[SmartCharpa]

I really liked the job Roma did against Milan away as well. Actually I can't say Roma were the better playing side. Their performance wasn't that impressive in general but used their chances more efficiently. De Rossi has really made difference so far. I started to believe in Roma more to eliminate Milan now and I had a bet placed on their advancing to the semi finals. 

I think it is very risk to bet on Roma to win the second leg, I only saw the highlights of the game, however, Roma won but Milan dominated the game and missed many chances to score. Milan has won both home and away games against Roma in Sería A competition. Though there have been many changes at the club since Danielle De Rossi's being appointed, I am still concerned about their next game, I do not believe Roma will advance to the next round because Milan are far better than them. Let's see what happens in the second leg this week.

The worst thing Atalanta can made in this next game is play defensive, because they dont know how to do it, and they work better with high pressure and attacking all the time, so i hope they dont fall back in the pitch so much, Liverpool is  always a super team, and if they found a rapid goal that can change everything.

I don't think Atalanta will have a problem with their second leg game, Liverpool is already down with three goals, while Atalanta will host the second leg, which I believe will give them an advantage since they're playing at home. Liverpool are the best club in this competition, but their performance in their last game was poor, they looked like a weak team. Though you are correct that Atalanta must be careful and play defensively, Liverpool may surprise them at home as well, as they did when they defeated Sparta Prague in the round of 16 with a lot of goals. Atalanta shouldn't rest on Liverpool, so they can maintain the lead and qualify to the next round.

[FanEagle]

I do agree that Xabi could be one of the main reasons why they got better, I do not think that there are so many big differences and I think it's clear that people are talking about Xabi as one of the greatest managers that is coming up in the football world because he managed to turn a club that wasn't so great, into a team that did not lose a single game so far this season. They just celebrated their bundesliga championship title, so I think it is going to be possible for them to have a much easier game on the second leg as well, they would definitely want to get this title as well.

Having these wins means so much for them because in most cases teams do not go on be champions for 10 years in a row like Bayern, so they take whatever they can when they are good.

[arimamib]

~

I will not immediately assume that it will be easy for Bayer Leverkusen even though the performance displayed by Bayer Leverkusen has been quite extraordinary this season. Because we all also need to see what things Liverpool will improve in the second leg, even though Liverpool has recently lost to a team that they should have won easily. I also don't know what is wrong with Liverpool now so that the team can lose a lot to Atalanta and also lose again to a mid-table team in the match in the Premier League yesterday.

It will never be easy to win a trophy, but if Leverkusen can win Bundesliga early, they will face Europa League games with less pressure. I think this situation will make Leverkusen the most favorite team to lift the Europa League trophy. Liverpool will have very small chance to progress to semi-final, because Atalanta is not a weak team. Leading 3 goals will make Atalanta easier to protect their way to semi-final, because Liverpool still have Premier League to fight for.

Even though Leverpool surprisingly progress to semi-final, I would still put Leverkusen as favorite to win the trophy, because the stake will be different with Leverkusen lifting Bundesliga early. In decisive moment like this, being focus is very important. With Leverkusen winning the league early, they will be the team with the most focus on Europa League.

[SOKO-DEKE]

It would be a matter of pride if Bayer Leverkusen would also win the UEL trophy because it seems like their strong rival Liverpool is not that convincing. Liverpool just suffered a defeat in the EPL against a mid-table team and also suffered a defeat against Atalanta, so it is very likely that Liverpool can be eliminated by Atalanta in their second meeting and Bayer Leverkusen will not have any difficult obstacles in winning the UEL trophy.

If Bayer Leverkusen later won this on going Europa trophy, I think they deserve the pride because they have done it more than people expected. Many people did not expect what Leverkusen has achieved this season. The team and the coach really need to be proud of themselves. And as this competition is going on now, the favourite team that has great chances to win the Europa Trophy is Leverkusen, Liverpool was what Many people were hoping before but their chances have reduced because they were defeated by Atalanta in the first leg 0-3 in Anfield, so their probability of advancing to semi-ffinal has been reduced. So and the way Leverkusen is playing currently and again that they have won their domestic league, their stress will reduce, and they will fully concentrate on the Europa League now.

[hahay]

I do agree that Xabi could be one of the main reasons why they got better, I do not think that there are so many big differences and I think it's clear that people are talking about Xabi as one of the greatest managers that is coming up in the football world because he managed to turn a club that wasn't so great, into a team that did not lose a single game so far this season. They just celebrated their bundesliga championship title, so I think it is going to be possible for them to have a much easier game on the second leg as well, they would definitely want to get this title as well.

Having these wins means so much for them because in most cases teams do not go on be champions for 10 years in a row like Bayern, so they take whatever they can when they are good.

This season has really become very interesting, because of the extraordinary success that Xabi Alonso has had for Bayer Leverusen. Moreover, previously the Europa League was predicted to have two title candidate teams this season and they were Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen. But yes, in reality in the first leg Liverpool suffered a big defeat without being able to reply to a goal even though Liverpool was playing at home, and then Liverpool again had bad results in the Premier League. So yes, it is clear that at this moment the situation has changed greatly and with these factors too, Bayer Leverkusen is of course the only team that is a candidate for the Europa League title this season.

Indeed, of course there are still AS Roma, Atalanta and Benfica but still, the fact is that at this moment Bayer Leverkusen really has very good quality compared to other competing teams in the Europa League at this stage. Therefore, I personally do not doubt Bayer Leverkusen's chances of getting a treble winner this season, it is clear that they have had great success this season and they deserve it.

[temple]

I do agree that Xabi could be one of the main reasons why they got better, I do not think that there are so many big differences and I think it's clear that people are talking about Xabi as one of the greatest managers that is coming up in the football world because he managed to turn a club that wasn't so great, into a team that did not lose a single game so far this season. They just celebrated their bundesliga championship title, so I think it is going to be possible for them to have a much easier game on the second leg as well, they would definitely want to get this title as well.

Having these wins means so much for them because in most cases teams do not go on be champions for 10 years in a row like Bayern, so they take whatever they can when they are good.

This season has really become very interesting, because of the extraordinary success that Xabi Alonso has had for Bayer Leverusen. Moreover, previously the Europa League was predicted to have two title candidate teams this season and they were Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen. But yes, in reality in the first leg Liverpool suffered a big defeat without being able to reply to a goal even though Liverpool was playing at home, and then Liverpool again had bad results in the Premier League. So yes, it is clear that at this moment the situation has changed greatly and with these factors too, Bayer Leverkusen is of course the only team that is a candidate for the Europa League title this season.

Indeed, of course there are still AS Roma, Atalanta and Benfica but still, the fact is that at this moment Bayer Leverkusen really has very good quality compared to other competing teams in the Europa League at this stage. Therefore, I personally do not doubt Bayer Leverkusen's chances of getting a treble winner this season, it is clear that they have had great success this season and they deserve it.

The thing is that there are some interesting developments now when you look at the favorite teams. In a very bad moment Liverpool is now starting to get into trouble and nobody thought that this could happen in this special moment for them. I thought Liverpool would keep up their level and would never fail so hard like losing against Atalanta 0-3 or lose the game against Crystal Palace at home. That's huge and right in this moment it is Bayer Leverkusen who win the game 5-0 in the Bundesliga.

At the same time I didn't think that AC Milan would lose the first leg against Roma 0-1. So many weird results and Leverkusen is the one team that is getting their job done and live up to highest expecations. They are the favorite to win the Europa League in my opinion.

[Jegileman]

I do agree that Xabi could be one of the main reasons why they got better, I do not think that there are so many big differences and I think it's clear that people are talking about Xabi as one of the greatest managers that is coming up in the football world because he managed to turn a club that wasn't so great, into a team that did not lose a single game so far this season. They just celebrated their bundesliga championship title, so I think it is going to be possible for them to have a much easier game on the second leg as well, they would definitely want to get this title as well.

Having these wins means so much for them because in most cases teams do not go on be champions for 10 years in a row like Bayern, so they take whatever they can when they are good.

These are the best moments of Bayern Leverkusen and they don’t know what next season brings for them, so they should try as much as possible to win every trophy that is within their reach now. They can have a good season again after the one but there’s no certainty that it could be as easy as this but maybe more difficult than this because all of the teams in Bundesliga will be more prepared for them and won’t give them a lot of breathing space to pull out an unbeaten run like this again.

Bayern Leverkusen have already achieved this season but they should be more prepared for next season because I see a bigger challenge and more difficulty ahead for them than this current one. Bayern Leverkusen will be playing in the champions league and this will make them meet bigger teams who won’t take any of their matches lightly with them. This is the right time to win all of the trophies they can win, it might not come easy by next season even if we all believe Xabi Alonso will do his best to make them better again by next season.

[lixer]

These are the best moments of Bayern Leverkusen and they don’t know what next season brings for them, so they should try as much as possible to win every trophy that is within their reach now. They can have a good season again after the one but there’s no certainty that it could be as easy as this but maybe more difficult than this because all of the teams in Bundesliga will be more prepared for them and won’t give them a lot of breathing space to pull out an unbeaten run like this again.

Bayern Leverkusen have already achieved this season but they should be more prepared for next season because I see a bigger challenge and more difficulty ahead for them than this current one. Bayern Leverkusen will be playing in the champions league and this will make them meet bigger teams who won’t take any of their matches lightly with them. This is the right time to win all of the trophies they can win, it might not come easy by next season even if we all believe Xabi Alonso will do his best to make them better again by next season.

We have few days left in second leg games with things are really shocking in first leg games as we have humiliating defeat for the Liverpool which is now clearly indicating Bayer Leverkusen can go through for the dream end of their season because this was massive hurdle for them in this event and now after defeat things are completely well under control for them even still we can expect surprises in second leg game, but now all is set for them have three trophies for their historic end of this season thanks to Xabi Alonso who bring this amazing success for their club after years of dominance by Bayern Munich in Bundesliga.

Most chances they will play without any pressure because things are completely under their control, and they are having enough quality to handle things in coming games while they are already secured their German League title.

[RaltcoinsB]

It would be a matter of pride if Bayer Leverkusen would also win the UEL trophy because it seems like their strong rival Liverpool is not that convincing. Liverpool just suffered a defeat in the EPL against a mid-table team and also suffered a defeat against Atalanta, so it is very likely that Liverpool can be eliminated by Atalanta in their second meeting and Bayer Leverkusen will not have any difficult obstacles in winning the UEL trophy.

If Bayer Leverkusen later won this on going Europa trophy, I think they deserve the pride because they have done it more than people expected. Many people did not expect what Leverkusen has achieved this season. The team and the coach really need to be proud of themselves. And as this competition is going on now, the favourite team that has great chances to win the Europa Trophy is Leverkusen, Liverpool was what Many people were hoping before but their chances have reduced because they were defeated by Atalanta in the first leg 0-3 in Anfield, so their probability of advancing to semi-ffinal has been reduced. So and the way Leverkusen is playing currently and again that they have won their domestic league, their stress will reduce, and they will fully concentrate on the Europa League now.

Yes, you are correct. Having won the Bundesliga title, they can now fully concentrate on the Europa league matches. That's why they are luckier than Liverpool and other teams. Of course, they will try to complete the season undefeated since they have not been defeated in the Bundesliga yet. The most important goal of the league for them right now will be to finish undefeated. They will play more comfortable matches in the Bundesliga and UEL. Xabi continues to make history with them

[samuraijin]

I think Klopp only made a small rotation in the line up that was deployed when Liverpool played against Crystal Palace, Liverpool's squad was still dominated by core players. It is impossible for Klopp to gamble in an important match because Liverpool also really needs a win to top the standings. The defeat against Crystal Palace was due to Liverpool not being able to take advantage of the opportunity to score a goal, after Eberechi Eze put Crystal Palace ahead in the 15th minute, Liverpool still had plenty of time to make the score equal again, but not a single opportunity was successfully converted into a goal.

The reality is that Liverpool was unable to stop Crystal Palace, which in fact is a bottom club that should have gotten points in this match, in fact Liverpool fell with a score of 0-1 plus playing at home they had to acknowledge Crystal Palace's greatness in exploiting this memory, Crystal Palace knows  It is true that Liverpool will face Atalanta in the Europa League for the second leg, even though they are 0-3 behind Atalanta, it is not impossible for Liverpool to easily beat Atalanta at home, of course this is the biggest challenge that Jorgen Klopp has to do to turn things around in the second leg.  , because their hope is the Europa League, but if they fail then like it or not, Jorgen Klopp will have to catch up with Man City, even though it is not easy because Arsenal is the same way to catch up in the fight to win the Domestic and European Leagues.

[redsun114]

Liverpool is out of the competition due to their poor performance in the last match against Atalanta, no miracle will happen for them in Italy. No one will ever have thought this early exit for Liverpool.

Milan still have hope of qualifying, only if Roma will be dumb enough to allow that happen, because Roma is at a higher advantage of qualifying to the semifinals than Milan. It will be difficult for Roma to allow Milan win them with two goals different.

Leverkusen have an automatic ticket to the semifinals, because West Ham will not be able to win Leverkusen in England. Leverkusen is the favorite club to win the league due to their outstanding performance since the beginning of this season.

I agree, nothing has been lost for Milan yet, one goal is too small an advantage, but Roma has an advantage because they will play the second leg at home, and by the way, with Mourinho they knew how to play a reliable defense, but so far there is no hurry in this match with conclusions, Milan is very strong to just give Roma the semi-final.

Atalanta will most likely be able to maintain a score that will allow them to advance to the semi-finals, and thus we can almost certainly say that we may see a team from Italy in the final. As for Bayer, a two-goal advantage is a lot, especially for such a Bayer, Alonso will try to play on counterattacks, in general, West Ham has very little chances.

After first leg games we are having only both English clubs with no good chance because Liverpool having 0–3 and West Ham having 2–0 which is looking not easy for them to fight back two other games are alive, and all four teams are having equal chance of fight back and go through for the next round matches AC Milan lost first leg game at home which is surely surprising, but still things are not out of their control which is good and their current performance and squad both are having fair chance for going through to win in second leg game.

Atlanta which is having surprising win with huge difference is also good even they are unpredictable, and their performance is also not consistent as they have against Verona after scoring two goals they concede and ended on draw, so things can go through for the another good match but still they are having good chance for the semifinal with hot favourite team is on verge of losing match and title hopes as well.

[bering]

I do agree that Xabi could be one of the main reasons why they got better, I do not think that there are so many big differences and I think it's clear that people are talking about Xabi as one of the greatest managers that is coming up in the football world because he managed to turn a club that wasn't so great, into a team that did not lose a single game so far this season. They just celebrated their bundesliga championship title, so I think it is going to be possible for them to have a much easier game on the second leg as well, they would definitely want to get this title as well.

Having these wins means so much for them because in most cases teams do not go on be champions for 10 years in a row like Bayern, so they take whatever they can when they are good.

At the beginning of this season nobody will thought Leverkusen performance will be outstanding and people were very amazed to see the development of Leverkusen under Xabi Alonso because within 2 year the progress of this team is very fantastic and before Xabi Alonso arrived Leverkusen status in Bundesliga and Europa League is only as mediocre team but everything was change this season because Leverkusen is very strong and the most impressive is they still unbeatable in all competitions until today

Because Leverkusen have already lock their position in Bundesliga then they can be more focus to other competitions just like Europa League and now Leverkusen in the comfortable position after win 2-0 but don't mean Leverkusen position will be automatically safe because West Ham is very strong at home and since group stages until round of 16 West Ham always be win at home and their records is 11 goals and only conceded 1 goal even the latest is West Ham can able to win with big scores 5-0 from Freiburg so these records is showing West Ham cannot be underestimate and Leverkusen should beware of these statistics