Leverkusen head coach Kasper Hjulmand questioned the legality of blocking tactics during set-pieces in his pre-match press conference. Following Robert Andrich’s goal, Hjulmand approached Arsenal coach Nicolas Jover on the touchline.
Touchline Discussion on Set-Piece Tactics
Hjulmand explained that Jover highlighted Leverkusen’s use of similar blocking methods, which Hjulmand had criticized the previous day. “I’m just questioning, is it actually in the rules that you can bodycheck and take players out without the ball?” Hjulmand said. “So he was just looking [and saying], ‘you do it too?’ Yeah, we are doing it too. So it is the same for all teams, we are all doing it.”
Arteta’s Take on Defensive Lapses
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta acknowledged anticipating the hosts’ routine but expressed frustration over his team’s preparation. “There’s always two sides to that,” Arteta stated. “One is the element of the opponent that they picked that weakness, and that lack of attention or urgency in both situations. The other one is us, because we knew, we showed them three clips from last weekend in three different ways, and we weren’t ready for it, and we got caught.”
Verdict on Arsenal’s Equalizer
Hjulmand voiced strong dissatisfaction with Arsenal’s penalty for their equalizer. Replays showed minimal contact, with one angle suggesting Tillman landed on Madueke’s foot. “There’s no contact and then he goes down,” Hjulmand insisted. “It’s not a penalty. That’s a situation where if the referee doesn’t blow his whistle and VAR checks it, then there’s no penalty.”
