Leverkusen's Kiessling making up for lost time

Having topped the Bundesliga scoring charts last term, Bayer 04 Leverkusen striker Stefan Kiessling is eager to make an impact in UEFA Champions League Group A.

"I played in the Champions League two years ago for the first time and it was such a good feeling not to be watching on TV," the 29-year-old told UEFA.com "It didn't work out but that served as an extra incentive – we wanted to qualify and make it back, and that's what we managed to do last season."

Kiessling's 25 goals helped Leverkusen finish third in the 2012/13 Bundesliga, ensuring a return to the competition following a one-year absence. Sascha Lewandowski and Sami Hyypiä masterminded the success, with the latter, a UEFA Champions League winner with Liverpool FC, now solely in charge.

"Sami has done a great job. Last season we had two coaches but now he's come out of his shell. You can see how much he enjoys it and that he wants to achieve a lot with us," said Kiessling, whose team host FC Shakhtar Donetsk on matchday three after leaving it late to beat Real Sociedad de Fútbol 2-1 last time out.

To hear more from Kiessling, click on the video player.