The Dynamic Duo that have Bayer believing

BAYER Leverkusen look set to play their last match in front of a crowd for the foreseeable future when they take on Rangers in the last 16 of the Europa League tomorrow night.

As the coronavirus crisis continues to escalate across the continent, supporters have already been told they will be banned from Die Werkself’s trip to the Weserstadion on Monday to take on Werder Bremen as Peter Bosz’s side aim to hold on to fourth place in the Bundesliga. Bayer’s Europa League secondleg tie against Steven Gerrard’s side at the BayArena on March 19 is also set to be a lock-out after an announcement that the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, where Leverkusen are based, is to either ban large events or have them staged behind closed doors. If ghost games are all that are in store for Leverkusen on their return to Germany, Brazilian striker Paulinho is determined that Bayer won’t become the latest in a long line of clubs to become spooked in the searing white heat of a European night in Govan. For all the club’s current domestic woes, Steven Gerrard remains unbeaten as Rangers manager in European football at Ibrox. It is a remarkable record against a host of formidable foes from across the continent, including Villarreal, Spartak Moscow, Rapid Vienna, Legia Warsaw, Porto and Feyenoord. Yet perhaps the best example of the ground’s power came in the last-32 first-leg last month with Braga 2-0 up against Rangers and seemingly cruising into the last 16. But then three goals in 15 second-half minutes from Ianis Hagi (2) and Joe Aribo saw Gerrard’s men secure an unlikely 3-2 win on the night, which became a 4-2 aggregate victory courtesy of a fine 1-0 second-leg triumph at the Municipal Stadium. After his first-leg heroics, Hagi summed up a crazy night by exclaiming in his post-match interview: ‘This is Ibrox baby, it’s just different!’ However, amid a run of eight wins in nine games, in-form Leverkusen touch down in Glasgow today brimming with confidence, with Paulinho looking forward to witnessing the wall of sound that awaits at Ibrox before the coronavirus lock-down kicks in back in Germany. ‘The atmosphere in Glasgow is something that can inspire me,’ said the £18million attacker. ‘It is beautiful to play in games like these, with big crowds and a lot of noise. ‘It will be important for us to keep

our focus on the ball and on our opponent, and not allow the atmosphere to distract us. ‘We will need to be at our best to conquer Ibrox. ‘Rangers have achieved some big results in this competition this season, so it’s obvious they are a strong team. ‘There are no easy games at this stage in the Europa League. We are certainly not expecting an easy match. ‘It will be a very big game for us. It’s a knockout situation and we obviously want to achieve the best result possible. ‘We are looking forward to a very hard match but we want to be in the next round.’ An inability to win a major trophy since the German Cup in 1993 has seen Bayer constantly mocked in their homeland as ‘Neverkusen’. But the Bundesliga giant’s hopes of changing that along the Road to Gdansk and the final could rest with £80million rated German international Kai Havertz, whose fine recent form has seen Leverkusen shrug off the season-ending injury to German international striker Kevin Volland. On the radar of European champions Liverpool, at the weekend the 20-year-old attacker became the youngest player to hit 30 Bundesliga goals since the legendary Klaus Fischer. Havertz is often compared in his homeland to Michael Ballack, who shot Leverkusen to the 2002 Champions League final only to lose to Zinedine Zidane-inspired Real Madrid in a memorable showdown at Hampden Park. With Bayer paired with Saarbrucken in the semi-finals of the German Cup, the Europa League represents one of two realistic routes for Havertz — who has scored five in eight Europa League appearances including a double in the last 32 win at Porto — to help Bayer finally shred their unwanted bridesmaids tag. ‘Kai is the full package,’ enthused his manager, Bosz. ‘Since the turn of the year it’s been the Kai Havertz we all knew last season. He’s incredibly important for the team.’ Nestled just in behind Havertz is Paulinho and the two look to be striking up a potent partnership. The Brazilian, whose full name is Paulo Henrique Sampaio Filho, models himself on Juventus and Portugal superstar Cristiano Ronaldo and has even adopted the nickname PH7 in honour of his CR7 boyhood hero. He cost a hefty sum when he signed two years ago from Vasco da Gama but the £18million man had to wait patiently until the weekend to be handed his first league start. The 19-year-old duly netted a double and contributed an assist in a crushing 4-0 win over last season’s Europa League semi-finalists, Eintracht Frankfurt. After his slow start to life in Leverkusen, Paulinho is keen to add to his own burgeoning reputation after citing a recent spell away with his country as a catalyst for his improved form in 2020. ‘I am very relieved to have made my first league start and scored the two goals,’ he said. ‘I had to wait a long time for my chance and that was not easy. ‘But I always said, if I get the chance, I have to take it. And I did that. My colleagues gave me great support during the difficult phase and that helped me a lot. ‘I played for Brazil Under-23s in the Olympic qualifiers in South America in January and that experience was very good for me. ‘The Olympics are a big deal for Brazil. And I picked up momentum over several games there. Hopefully I can keep that going.’