Leverkusen ease into Champions League last 16 with stalemate against Olympiacos

LEVERKUSEN, Germany, Feb 24 : Bayer Leverkusen endured late pressure but earned a 0-0 draw with visitors Olympiacos Piraeus on Tuesday to book their Champions League last-16 spot with a 2-0 aggregate win in their knockout playoff.

Leverkusen, who had won last week's first leg in Greece 2-0 thanks to Patrik Schick's double, will now face either German rivals Bayern Munich or Arsenal in the round of 16 next month. The draw will take place on Friday.

"We achieved our goal and that's the result that counts," Leverkusen keeper Janis Blaswich said. "We invested a lot in both games and worked hard. Maybe not everything looked great today, but we're through."

"Now we have an absolutely top team waiting for us in Bayern or Arsenal."

The visitors were disciplined and gradually increased the pressure to go close twice early in the second half, with Blaswich palming a Gelson Martins shot wide at full stretch.

The hosts, who have now kept a clean sheet at home for the fifth straight game across all competitions, responded with a chance of their own when man-of-the-match Alex Grimaldo rattled the crossbar with a close-range effort in the 62nd minute.

Olympiacos, however, kept them firmly on the back foot in the final 20 minutes and they had several late chances.

Lorenzo Scipioni went agonisingly close for the Greeks late in the game when he flashed a shot narrowly wide, but Leverkusen held on for the draw.