Hjulmand Knows Struggling Leverkusen Must Improve vs Olympiacos

Kasper Hjulmand admits Bayer Leverkusen need a major improvement following back-to-back Bundesliga defeats, as they prepare to visit Olympiacos in the Champions League. Leverkusen sit 20th in the 36-team standings with two games remaining in the league phase, three points clear of Benfica, who are on the wrong side of the cut-off point for the play-offs. A victory on Tuesday would all but secure Leverkusen's spot in the knockout-stage play-offs, though they advanced straight to the round of 16 by finishing sixth in 2024-25. Hjulmand's team have struggled since the Bundesliga's winter break, losing 4-1 to Stuttgart and 1-0 to Hoffenheim to slip to sixth in the league table. And the former Denmark boss knows they must show a better performance against Olympiacos, who sit 29th with five points and can still make the cut. "It's an emotional stadium, there's going to be a great atmosphere. We need a better performance than last time, to be honest," Hjulmand said. "We need structure again. Our philosophy is our weapon and our way of playing football." Olympiacos and Leverkusen faced off twice in the first group stage of the 2002-03 Champions League, with the Greek side winning 6-2 in Piraeus before the Bundesliga team triumphed 2-0 at the BayArena. The last time the Greek team ended a winless run of at least 10 matches in the competition (13 games from 2015 to 2019), they won back-to-back matches, beating Red Star Belgrade and Marseille. Hjulmand expects a tough test, adding: "They play good football and have a good coach [Jose Luis Mendilibar] with a lot of experience. They are compact and, at the same time, have individual quality. "We know what kind of opponent we are up against. We are ready, and our goal is to reach the next round of this competition. "We have the opportunity to do that with a win. We're here to do that and are therefore looking forward to it."