Publications
Partners
Cape Town - Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Lars Bender was delighted with his
side's comfortable 3-1 win over Benfica in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Champions League Wrap
Leverkusen got their European campaign back on track following an
opening-game defeat to Monaco a fortnight ago, with goals from Stefan
Kiessling, Son Heung-min and Hakan Calhanoglu securing the result.
Roger Schmidt's men made a flying start to the campaign, scoring 22 goals in their opening six games, but the loss in the Principality seemingly halted their progress as Bayer won one, drawn one and lost the other three games since.
However, the midweek victory over the Portuguese giants represented a fine return to goalscoring form for the German outfit, and Bender was thrilled with the way they performed.
"We were very ambitious, because our start in this Champions League was a little bit unsuccessful," he told reporters after the game.
"We showed a very good reaction and a fantastic match. This win was extremely important, because we were standing with our backs to the wall. In groups like this you have to win your home matches."
Leverkusen will host Zenit St Petersburg at the BayArena on October 22 hoping to maintain their unbeaten record at home this season.
