Hofmann Scores Twice as Leverkusen Beat OFI 2-0 Despite Lilo Heroics

By Taki Panos

For about twenty minutes on Thursday night, Heraklion had every reason to dream. Then Jonas Hofmann struck twice in three minutes, and the dream got a lot more complicated. OFI lost 2-0 to Bayer Leverkusen at the Pankritio Stadium on October 22, 2026, on Matchday 3 of the Europa League league phase, as in.gr reported. Both goals came late in the first half, and only a huge night from goalkeeper Klidman Lilo kept the German side from running up a bigger score.

For readers just catching up, this is a historic European run for the Cretan club. OFI opened the league phase by beating Hoffenheim 2-0 at home in September, a result that made headlines well beyond Greece. A week ago they led at Roazhon Park before Rennes scored twice late to win 2-1. So the Pankritio crowd, more than 12,000 strong per in.gr, came in hoping for another famous night against a club that has won the Bundesliga in recent years.

The opening stretch gave them plenty to cheer. Christos Kontis set OFI up in a 3-4-3, with Konstantinos Kostoulas, Poungouras and Kresimir Krizmanic in the back three, and the hosts pressed with real energy. In the 11th minute, after a sharp passing move, Thiago Nuss cut in from the left and drove a low shot toward the far corner, and Janis Blaswich had to get down well to save it, SKAI reported. It was the best chance OFI would have all night.

Leverkusen took over from there. Hofmann tested Lilo with a powerful shot from outside the box in the 19th minute, the first of a long list of saves. Around the half hour, OFI survived a double scare when Lilo stopped Hofmann one on one and Krizmanic cleared Patrik Schick's follow-up off the line. Lilo then denied Equi Fernández and beat Malik Tillman in another one on one, per SKAI. You could feel the pressure building in every Leverkusen attack.

It finally broke around the 35th minute. Lilo pushed away a long shot from Moreira, but Hofmann was quickest to the rebound and finished from close range. Before OFI could reset, Tillman laid the ball into Hofmann's path and he beat Lilo again with a strike from outside the area to make it 2-0, as Ta Nea and in.gr both described it. Two goals in a three-minute spell, and the game had turned completely.

The second half was calmer but not much kinder. Kostoulas pushed forward and forced a save from Blaswich in the 54th minute, while Lilo kept making stops at the other end, including one on Aleix García. Kontis sent on Taxiarchis Fountas for Kenan Kodro around the hour, and Fountas had OFI's best look after the break in the 65th minute, a shot that deflected off a defender and went out for a corner, per in.gr.

Leverkusen managed the lead with the calm of a team that knows exactly what it is doing. They kept the ball for long spells and gave OFI few clean openings. Their best chance to add a third came in the 81st minute, when Nathan Tella shot from close range after a cross from the right and Lilo, once again, got in the way, SKAI reported. That save alone was worth the ticket.

The goalkeeper deserves his own paragraph. The 23-year-old was making his European debut, according to in.gr, and he finished with somewhere between 12 and 14 saves, depending on who was counting: SKAI had 12, in.gr had 14. Either way, that is a remarkable workload against a squad full of internationals. On a night when OFI lost, Lilo is the reason the scoreline still reads like a respectable defeat and not a rout.

There was one more small piece of history late on. Kontis sent on Athanasios Sitmalidis, a forward born in 2008, for his European debut in place of Nuss, in.gr noted. Giannis Apostolakis and Giannis Theodosoulakis also came on as OFI tried to find a way back. For a club from Crete building a European identity on the fly, seeing a teenager get minutes on this stage matters beyond one result.

The table tells a clear story. OFI stay on three points after three matches, while Leverkusen are perfect at three wins from three and have not conceded a goal in the competition, per SKAI. With five league-phase games still to play, OFI have time to collect the points they need, but the margin for nights like this is shrinking. The Hoffenheim win now looks like the result that keeps their hopes alive.

My take: there is no shame in losing 2-0 to Leverkusen, and the first twenty minutes showed that OFI belong at this level. But the lesson from Rennes and from tonight is the same. In the Europa League, a few loose minutes cost you, and OFI gave away two goals in three minutes after holding their shape so well. Fix that, and this team can still pick up points against anyone who visits the Pankritio.

Next up, OFI return to Super League duty before the Europa League resumes, and Heraklion will be waiting for its next big European night. Keep an eye on our Greek Sports section for every OFI result. Lilo earned his applause tonight.

Sources: in.gr, SKAI, Ta Nea, Transfermarkt.

Image: Historic Bayer 04 Leverkusen crest (1948-1968), by Fredymutz, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).