BERLIN, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- German side Bayer Leverkusen ensured a neat 1-0 victory over Norwegian side Rosenborg Trondheim at the last match of group K in Europa League on Thursday.
Leverkusen introduced a couple of youngsters into the formation, as they were already qualified for the knockout stage. One of the youngsters, Julian Riedel, utilized his big chance when he scored the only goal of the match.
Leverkusen's squad started highly motived into the match and they nearly got rewarded but Rosenborgs goalkeeper Lund Hansen parried Junior Fernandes effort from close range.
As the match progressed Leverkusen failed to utilize their ball possession against passive visitors, that's why scoring opportunities were a rare occurrence before the break.
Seconds before interval Rosenborgs Tarik Elyounoussi almost broke the deadlock with his sideways scissor kick which was defused with a superb reflex by Leverkusen's goalkeeper debutant Niklas Loms.
After interval Leverkusen started where they left off as Sidney Sam almost scored the opener with a low shot from central position.
The host controlled the proceeding on the pitch and they were rewarded for their efforts as youngster debutant Julian Riedel slid into Carlinhos low cross at the second post to seal the deal with 65 minutes on the clock.
"The victory was deserved. It is great thing that the youngsters were the match winners tonight," Leverkusen coach Sascha Lewandowski said.
Thus Leverkusen finishes group K on second position behind Metalist Kharkiv and followed by Rosenborg Trondheim and Rapid Wien.