Lacklustre BATE defending disappoints Yermakovich

BATE coach Aleksandr Yermakovich was disappointed with his side’s slack defending in their 4-1 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League.

The Belarusian Premier League champions, who had lost just three games in 2015 before Wednesday’s defeat, went behind early on at the BayArena, but drew level through Nemanja Milunovic’s header.

However, Javier Hernandez’s maiden Leverkusen strike – sandwiched between two Hakan Calhanoglu efforts – ensured a comfortable win for Roger Schmidt’s men.

“First of all, we have made way too many mistakes. Our opponent pressured us relentlessly, especially in our defence,” said Yermakovich, whose side will also face Roma and defending champions Barcelona in Group E.

“In the end, our transitions did not work out, which led to us not being able to launch our counterattacks. We have to work on this.”

Another negative for BATE was the loss of Aleksandr Hleb to injury midway through the first half, the former Arsenal man limping off with an apparent hamstring strain.

“Aleksandr Hleb has suffered a muscular injury. It is looking very serious,” Yermakovich confirmed.