HAMBURG, Germany (AP) — Two of Bayer Leverkusen’s young players combined for a breakthrough goal to beat Hamburger SV 1-0 in the Bundesliga on Wednesday and boost the team’s fading challenge for Champions League qualification.
Leverkusen was having a frustrating game, with a goal ruled out for handball and a penalty decision overturned on video review, before 20-year-old midfielder Ibrahim Maza and 19-year-old forward Christian Kofane combined for the only goal in the 73rd minute.
Maza drew in Hamburg players before flicking the ball on for Kofane, who lashed it into the top-left corner.
Hamburg’s own young star Luka Vušković threw his boots against the bench in frustration at the end. The 19-year-old defender, on loan from Tottenham, had a shot blocked by Leverkusen goalkeeper Janis Blaswich in the final seconds and headed the rebound onto the crossbar. Hamburg is 11th and winless in three games.
Leverkusen remained sixth in the Bundesliga but cut the gap to fourth-place Stuttgart, the last team in the Champions League places, to three points.
Leverkusen coach Kasper Hjulmand made five changes to his lineup, partly due to injuries, and handed a first senior start to 18-year-old German-American winger Montrell Culbreath, who played 80 minutes.
The game was originally meant to be played in January but it was rescheduled when Hamburg’s stadium roof suffered structural damage following heavy snow and required urgent repairs.
The win over Hamburg is part of a crucial run of games for Leverkusen, which faces Arsenal in the Champions League round of 16 next week and is struggling to qualify for next season’s Champions League after winning one of its previous four Bundesliga games prior to Wednesday.
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