Following Bayern Munich’s spluttering win against Augsburg, the onus was very much on Xabi Alonso’s men to continue from where they left off to retain their four point cushion on top of the Bundesliga. Despite putting up a very respectable fight against the record champions, the Fuggerstadter could not take anything from the game, losing 3-2 in the end. Apart from Werder Bremen’s shock 1-0 away win last Sunday, the Werkself could not count on any other favours from teams in Bayern’s ‘catch up week’, meaning the high pressure title race remained as nail biting as ever. The task for Bayer 04 this week was a home fixture against Rhineland rivals Borussia Monchengladbach. On paper, this looked a much easier test compared to Leipzig last week, though this was a derby - anything could happen. In recent years, the results have very much favoured the hosts - the last defeat suffered at the ‘hooves’ of the foals was all the way back in November 2019. Goals were guaranteed however - at least that was what the statistics would have told you. The second best attack against the second worst defence, as well as no 0-0 draw in nearly 20 years.
The team news, particularly for Leverkusen, was also anything but predictable. Given the groin injury suffered by Palacios late on in the Leipzig clash, in addition to Tah’s accumulation of five yellow cards, changes were expected - but there was one change in particular which raised more than a few eyebrows. Nadiem Amiri, unused for the majority of the campaign up to this point, barring a few late cameos, slotted in next to Xhaka, whilst Andrich (apparently ‘angry’ with his role as an emergency stopgap) was again the libero. But in goal, for no apparent reason at first, Matej Kovar took the place of captain Lukas Hradecky. Alonso, in an interview with Sky, clarified his decision by saying that Kovar needed match practice in view of the upcoming cup game with Stuttgart and that Hradecky will be in goal again against Darmstadt. As for the guests, there was a change of system for Gerardo Seoane’s first return to the BayArena since his sacking in October 2022. Alassane Plea (out injured) and lifelong Gladbach fan Rocco Reitz (recovering from injury) made way for Florian Neuhaus and Julian Weigl in midfield, Scally moved to central defence and Hack joined Siebatcheu in attack; a 3-5-2 formation on paper that was quickly transformed into a back five once the whistle blew.
When the whistle did blow, it was very much business as usual for the Werkself as they played pinball with the football as they immediately attempted to crack the code of Gladbach’s low block. The first real chance of the game fell to Nadiem Amiri who took a brilliant shot from the edge of the right hand side of the box that stung the gloves of Moritz Nicolas who could only push it over the bar (5’). The game continued to be dominated by Leverkusen who did not allow Gladbach a second on the ball, as demonstrated by how Wirtz stole the ball high up the pitch and immediately was aided by a host of players rushing forward - one of them was Stanisic but the Croatian’s shot was unfortunately deflected over (11’). An incredible statistic to underline just how strong Leverkusen played the first period of the game: it took 17 minutes before a Borussia Monchengladbach player took a touch inside their opposition’s half! But for all of Leverkusen’s technical ability and tiki-taka play, good chances were at a premium. Following a big handball appeal against Weigl (nothing given as it was too close-range), the eventual shot by Grimaldo inside the box was easily saved (18’). A minute later, Wirtz had a crack from range but his shot flew wide (19’). Gladbach would finally get up the pitch and create a chance of note however as Robin Hack stretched to poke the ball through to Netz in the box. The left back tried to bend a shot towards the bottom-right corner but Kovar dived low to make the save (22’). Then came a golden opportunity. Winning the ball inside the box, Xhaka backheeled to Schick who then set up Wirtz - the 20 year old prodigy inexplicably didn’t score despite his great position; instead the goalkeeper saved with his legs (24’). The following corner saw Stanisic head the ball straight at Nicolas (25’). Shortly afterwards, Wirtz fizzed the ball into Patrik Schick and the Czech international used his body well, shielding the ball and turning. Unfortunately his shooting wasn’t as good as his effort trickled wide (25’). The game opened up for a period from that point - Neuhaus took advantage of a lull in Leverkusen pressure as he dribbled, without challenge, right to the edge of the home penalty area but his shot was too tame to worry Kovar in goal (27’). During a spell of rare Gladbach pressure, a long shot from Kone caused significant issues for the young Czech however - the bounce and power on the shot prevented him from catching the ball and had Hincapie to thank for the fact there was no rebound (32’). There were a few more half chances for Bayer 04 before the end of the first half, but none were particularly threatening: Wirtz cut inside in the box but his shot was straight at the goalkeeper (37’), Grimaldo tried to curl one in from outside the area but it was always going wide (40’) and finishing another outstanding passing move, Hofmann’s effort deflected off Friedrich into the arms of Nicolas. It was a near perfect half for the hosts with 72% of the possession - but that counts for little if you cannot convert it to goals.
The second half began like the first half ended. Once again, possession was the name of the game and the away team had no answer to the Werkself’s fast, yet patient passing though it must be said, they were keeping them well at bay. The first 10 minutes or so of the second half were quite uneventful, with the only major incident being a studs up tackle by Xhaka on Neuhaus which resulted in the Swiss being handed the yellow card (47’). There was a brief scare after Robin Hack drew out Matej Kovar from his goal, right to the edge of his penalty area. Hack chipped the ball over Kovar but the clearance, combined with the offside flag, ensured nothing could come from it (52’). At the other end, Amiri had another pop from distance, but his bouncing shot did not possess the power of Kone’s, so it was an easy catch for Nicolas in goal (55’). Whilst Leverkusen continued to boss the ball, it was one of their classic counter attacks which would generate the best chance of the game so far. Schick was able to knock a long ball onto Wirtz who then carried the ball forward before releasing Frimpong in the box. Perhaps it would have been a different story had he used his stronger foot instead, but his left footed attempt rolled agonisingly wide of the right post (56’). Fresh from missing his last big chance, Frimpong managed to outdo himself. Another sumptuous move resulted in Grimaldo squaring it to Frimpong on the edge of the six yard box. Incredulously, Frimpong ends up hitting the ball away from the goal instead of just tapping in from an excellent scoring position (58’). Straight afterwards, it was Grimaldo’s turn to show how it was done, but the Spain international’s typically perfect shooting technique deserted him as his effort from inside the box cleared the roof of the net, following a low cross from his counterpart (60’). It became even further evident that it just wasn’t Frimpong’s day a minute later. Whilst the flying Dutchman is known for his speed, despite racing away alone, time slowed down as he waited to pull the trigger, which allowed Florian Neuhaus the opportunity to put in a monster sliding tackle to keep his side in the game (61’). Patrik Schick would be the next Bayer 04 player to get booked as his powerful challenge on Joe Scally was deemed too late and rash (66’). Chasing the game, Alonso turned to his bench and brought on Nathan Tella to give his side an increased offensive drive. He immediately made his mark on the game, making a strong tackle before crossing the ball to Schick who controlled it well and shifted to Hofmann but the former Gladbacher’s shot was blocked (68’). Josip Stanisic received a yellow card for dissent (74’) and then missed a chance of his own after half-volleying wide of the left post after latching on to a headed clearance on the edge of the penalty area (79’). The pressure in the late stages, as with the rest of the match, was incessant. The fans, despite the plethora of spurned chances, did not yield in their support, knowing full well what the team was capable of in the dying moments. Unfortunately they would be left feeling disappointed. In the 92nd minute, Schick juggled the ball in the box before trying an overhead kick - it didn’t come off but it still fell to Tella who couldn’t convert from 3 yards out - under pressure from Netz, he couldn’t properly swing at it which made it much more comfortable than it could have been for the goalkeeper. Hlozek had a header also easily saved from a Grimaldo cross (94’) and the last chance of the game fell to Robert Andrich who absolutely skied his volley (95’) which ensured the first 0-0 draw between the sides since April 2004.
The result naturally sent shockwaves through the league and it also of course led some fans of rival teams to already accuse the club of ‘bottling it’. But the reality of the matter is, Leverkusen are still two points clear at the top of the table, and in terms of performance, they could not have played any better. The match data was astounding: 945 passes played was the highest of any team this season in the Bundesliga and 69 touches in the opposition penalty area was the highest amount in the Bundesliga since data collection began in 2004/05. Leverkusen were playing amazing football but only had their lacklustre finishing to blame. Any other day, it could have been a goalfest. Alas it wasn’t, but next week Bayer 04 play Darmstadt, the bottom side in the table at the time of writing, with the perfect opportunity to make amends. On the other hand, Bayern also have to face Gladbach - their ‘angstgegner’ in the final Bundesliga game before the ultimate showdown on February 10th. Should the foals defend as stoutly as against us, maybe we could just have even a little bigger cushion before the big day. For now though it is back to the training ground, with a little extra coaching in the shooting department with loan signing Borja Iglesias from Real Betis - if only he was signed a little earlier!
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