Hjulmand bemoans missed chances for Leverkusen in Olympiacos defeat

Bayer Leverkusen head coach Kasper Hjulmand has called for his team to “keep sticking together” after their Champions League defeat to Olympiacos.

Despite producing 2.58 expected goals (xG) to Olympiacos’ 1.13, the Bundesliga outfit lost 2-0 in Greece, taking away any hopes of finishing in the top eight of the league phase.

Leverkusen also squandered five big chances at Stadio Georgios Karaiskaki, with both Patrik Schick and Ibrahim Maza being denied by Konstantinos Tzolakis.

It was Leverkusen’s first Champions League defeat against a side from outside Europe’s top-five leagues since losing 3-0 to Porto in October 2022 – they had been unbeaten in seven games since then (W4 D3).

The Werkself conceded inside two minutes against Olympiacos, which left them with too much work to do away from home.

Hjulmand was unhappy with how they responded to the early blow, as well as their finishing in front of goal.

“After conceding in the second minute, I saw 10 minutes that weren’t as good from my team,” said Hjulmand.

“After that, though, it got better and better and we created some big chances. We tried everything again in the second half and we had the opportunities.

“We must win [the final game] now. We can do it, we have to keep sticking together and perform at our best.”

Thanks for your support in Piraeus tonight, Werkself. pic.twitter.com/TitdxegxFD

— Bayer 04 Leverkusen (@bayer04_en) January 20, 2026

Leverkusen defender Alejandro Grimaldo agreed with Hjulmand as he told Werkself-TV: “We made too many mistakes.

“It’s the Champions League, it’s decided by little details. We didn’t take our chances, it wasn’t enough from us.”

Leverkusen host Villarreal in their final league phase match next week, with a win enough to guarantee their place to in the top 24.