Bayer Leverkusen 1-1 Barcelona: Five talking points

A defiant Barcelona held on for a 1-1 draw against Bayer Leverkusen in their final Champions League group-stage encounter. The Catalan giants having already secured their place in the round of 16, rang up eight changes in the side from the one that faced Valencia at the weekend.Javier Hernandez, who has been in fine form for Leverkusen this season leveled the scores in the 23rd minute for the hosts, only three minutes after Lionel Messi had given the defending champions the lead. Barcelona’s experimental and inexperienced line-up, however, stood out the test mainly due to an excellent day in the office for Marc-Andre ter Stegen.Leverkusen, who had all to play heading into the final group game, piled on the pressure from the get-go and succeeded in creating a flurry of chances against a makeshift Barcelona backline.However, their wastefulness in front of goal, especially in the second-half would later come back to haunt them as the draw meant, that Roger Schmidt's men were thrown out of the competition and would now have to compete in the Europa League when European football commences again after the winter break.Here are the five biggest talking points from tonight's game at the Bay Arena.

#1 Close, but no cigar!

Leverkusen were unlucky not to win on the night as they peppered the Barca goal with relentless attacks

The proposition for Leverkusen was simple. They needed to beat the defending champions and hope that Roma didn’t win in their encounter against BATE Borisov. While Roma ended up drawing their game against BATE, Roger Schmidt’s men failed to live up to their end of the bargain.

However, it was not certainly for a lack of effort. The men in black and red poured every last bit of gas they had in their tank but still came up short. An inspired Marc-Andre Ter Stegen pulled out a performance for the ages while Leverkusen themselves were guilty of wastefulness in front of goal. They nicked it in terms of possession put in a spirited shift that saw them come back and nearly win the game after Lionel Messi had given Barcelona an early lead.

The first-half itself saw Hernandez leveling the score and a dangerous Hakan Calhanoglu effort staved off by Ter Stegen. After the interval, the Germans didn’t ease off a bit by the end of the ninety minutes, they had peppered the Barca goal with 26 attempts; 10 of them being on target. Calhanoglu and Karim Bellarabi each had accounted for seven of them after the half-time interval.

The pubs at Leverkusen would have been overflowing by now if only Bellarabi and Hernandez had better finishes at the end of their guilt edged chances.

#2 Ter Stegen comes to the fore

Ter Stegen produced an inspired performance to help Barca claim a point for their troubles

Let’s put it plainly enough here. If it wasn’t for Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, Barcelona’s six-game winning streak would have ended in a loss in Germany instead of what many may call a valiant draw. The porous make-shift backline offered little to no resistance to the Leverkusen onslaught and it was left to the German international to stave off the efforts of all and sundry in black and red.

Marc-Andre Ter Stegen arrived in Barcelona last summer to much fanfare. Already a World Cup winner with Germany in 2014 and touted by many as the next great German hope between the sticks, it seemed like the natural progression for the young goalie to arrive in Catalunya. After helping Borussia Moenchengladbach to Champions League qualification, it was deemed to be his time to take over the reigns at Barcelona.

However, the story that a lot of pundits had scripted, hasn’t quite come true. While Ter Stegen wears the number one shirt, he has never quite become the number one option as many had envisioned under Luis Enrique. His time with the Blaugrana has so far limited to domestic cups and the Champions League. However, when the time came to make himself accountable he certainly stood up to the test and how.

Called into action on ten occasions, the German didn’t really disappoint. While Bellarabi saw his one on one chance with the goalkeeper come to naught due to Ter Stegen’s phenomenal closing down, the German’s biggest moment came when he denied Hernandez a brace with a reflex save for the ages in the dying moment of the game.

#3 Barcelona\'s new generation on show

Samper(L) and Bartra(R) were among the young brigade Luis Enrique fielded against Bayer last night

Having already qualified for the next round as Group Champions, Luis Enrique took the call to go into the game with a much-weakened line-up in this one, making eight changes from the team that had played in the weekend. While Neymar was nowhere to be seen, Luis Suarez was offered a place on the sub bench.

The decision to go with a weakened line-up in the final game of the group stage opened up the opportunity to latest legion of graduates from Barcelona’s famous school of teaching, La Masia. The likes of Sergi Samper and Wilfrid Kaptoum found themselves thrust into the heart of Barcelona's plans. While Sandro and Munir El Haddadi also found their names appearing in the team sheet.

However, this game won’t be one the youngsters would look back upon with much fondness. With Leverkusen having a lot more at stake and playing a high pressing brand of football, the relatively inexperienced line-up came under heavy pressure.

The young Blaugrana side not only lost the battle in the middle to the likes of Hakan Calhanoglu and co. but also failed to assert themselves in the final third with none between Sandro and El Haddadi able to get a grip on the proceedings.

The only one who really could leave with his head held high was 20-year old Sergio Samper. He proved to be the anchor of the team in the middle and his stat line of 90.6% pass accuracy, 8 ball recoveries, 1 chance created, 7/9 completed tackles, 3 interceptions backs up what we saw on the field.

#4 Hernandez having the time of his life

Hernandez(R) has been on a roll ever since his move to Bayer Leverhusen

Chicharito has finally found his niche and it feels nice to finally say it. The Mexican scored again in the game to draw Leverkusen level and he just can’t stop scoring. He has scored 12 in last 11 games for the German side and was also awarded the player of the month award for the month of November in the Bundesliga.

Chicha has been a favourite amongst fans wherever he has been, but he never has quite got enough playing time to truly showcase his skills. The Mexican, who has always been recognised as a natural goal-scorer always had the tag of a super-sub laid out on him. Neither Old Trafford nor the Bernabeu ever afforded the Mexican the time to pull the string for prolonged stretches of time.

However in Roger Schmidt, he has a manager who trusts in him and in Leverkusen, an environment which affords him time to flourish. The Mexican, in turn, has repaid their faith ten folds, racking up goals for fun. Whilst this draw might have felt like a loss for the Germans, there is certainly no doubt, Leverkusen have found a figure that really draws the crowd in, a real superstar amongst their ranks.

While Leverkusen may lie in 8th place on the table, Hernandez’s form should give them hope for the future in both domestic competitions as well as the Europa League.

#5 Calhanoglu shows off his skills

Calhanoglu has been making giant strides in his career with his skills and raw talent

Calhanoglu has become a cult figure, or many would say a “hip” amongst the up and coming football enthusiasts of this social-media-driven age. His hype has taken an exponential leap in the last year even amongst those who have hardly seen him play in the Bundesliga. He is the new YouTube darling and his free-kick taking skills have already been compared with the likes of David Beckham and Juninho.

But, there is more to his game than mere free-kicks and for those who haven’t seen him before, he laid out his full arsenal of offensive prowess on display. The Turkish international was the biggest force driving the Leverkusen onslaught. He not only created opportunities for himself but also carved out chances for his team-mates with his vision and immaculate passing.

His effect on the game was quite well documented after he was taken off late in the game. His withdrawal coincided with the chances drying up for the Germans in the latter periods.While the all-decisive second goal might have eluded them, but it was certainly not because of a lack of zeal as Calhanoglu drove the home side forward at every possible instance.

Whilst Chicharito might be the V8 engine that drives Schmidt’s team forward, Calhanoglu is the one who lays down the road to help the V8 reach its destination.