Schmidt: Bayer Leverkusen close to perfection
The 48-year-old was delighted with the all-round display from his side as they secured their spot in the Champions League group stage
Bayer Leverkusen got "close to perfection" in their 3-0 Champions League playoff win over Lazio, according to coach coach Roger Schmidt.
Trailing 1-0 from the first leg in Rome, Leverkusen dispatched the Biancocelesti in impressive style on Wednesday, with goals from Hakan Calhanoglu, Admir Mehmedi and Karim Bellarabi sealing the victory and a place in the group stage.
While he believes they can still make progress in the way they played, Schmidt was delighted at how his side dictated the tempo for the majority of the game.
"There is room for improvement, of course. But the way we played after 2-0, pressed and kept the ball away from our goal, was close to perfection," he said to Sky.
"We're validating what we showed last year. We are able to power through our game against international opponents with high quality. And that we managed to do so under this pressure shows we have a certain maturity."
Leverkusen enter Thursday's draw in Pot 2 alongside Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Valencia and Porto.