Slovenian champions NK Celje began their UEFA Europa League league-phase campaign with all three of their Lithuania internationals in the starting XI, but a difficult trip to Germany ended in a 0-2 defeat against Bayer Leverkusen.
Celje came within touching distance of reaching the Champions League for the first time in club history a few weeks earlier, only to lose to Slovak champions Slovan Bratislava after extra time. Their consolation was a place in the Europa League, where the draw handed them arguably the toughest fixture on their schedule to begin the campaign, away against last season’s sixth-placed Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen.
All three Lithuanian internationals started, with Armandas Kučys leading the attack and Artemijus Tutyškinas and Pijus Širvys lining up in defence. Celje were put under heavy pressure from the opening minutes, with their goalkeeper and the woodwork helping them survive the early stages. Their resistance lasted until the 15th minute, when Svit Seslar unfortunately turned the ball into his own net following a Leverkusen corner.
The hosts continued to dominate, but Celje were presented with an excellent opportunity to equalise when Benjamin Verbič found himself in a dangerous position, only to be denied by Mark Flekken. At the other end, Celje’s goalkeeper produced several important saves to keep the visitors within one goal heading into half-time.
Leverkusen eventually doubled their advantage in the second half. Another corner caused problems for the Slovenian defence, with Facundo Medina converting from close range to make it 2-0 and effectively settle the contest.
Kučys had a relatively quiet evening in attack and played 61 minutes before being substituted. Tutyškinas and Širvys, meanwhile, completed the full match after a demanding night in the Celje defence against sustained Leverkusen pressure.
Celje return to domestic action in three days with an away match against Mura before the international break. Their Europa League campaign resumes on October 15 when they host Cypriot side Omonia, who opened their campaign with a surprise home victory over La Liga club Celta Vigo.
