Bailey’s brace pushes Leverkusen - ... into knockout stage of Europa League

National player Leon Bailey ensured that his German club Bayer Leverkusen advanced to the knockout stage of the Europa League as group winners after his brace powered the home side to a 4-0 win against Slavia Praha in their final group game yesterday at the Bayer Arena.

The 23-year-old Bailey did the damage in the first half, scoring in the 8th and 32nd minute, while Moussa Diaby added a third in the 59th and Karim Bellarabi added insurance in the first minute of second-half stoppage time, as Leverkusen secured the top spot in Group C with 15 points over their Czech Republic rivals, who advanced in second place with 12 points.

Goalscoring form

It was Bellarabi that provided the assist for the opener as his low cross found Bailey at the back post to tap in past Slavia goalkeeper Ondrej Kolar to continue his goalscoring form in Europe this season. Bailey doubled the lead after the half-hour mark with another simple tap in after Nadiem Amiri's header hit the post and fell into Bailey's path.

He now has five goals and two assists from six games in the Europa League, and has now scored seven in all competitions this season. The round of 32 draw will take place on December 14 with the first and second legs scheduled to commence next February. Among the qualified teams are Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Leicester City, Napoli and AC Milan. Manchester United will join the round of 2 draw next week after finishing third in their Champions League group.

Meanwhile, Leverkusen are in second place in the Bundesliga with 22 points, one away from leaders Bayern Munich. They will hope to put even more pressure on the defending German champions when they host Hoffenheim on Sunday.