In the penultimate matchday before Christmas, it was the turn of the two-faced Eintracht Frankfurt to face the indomitable Leverkusen at the BayArena. Despite running rampant against the record champions, winning 5-1, a midweek 2-0 defeat against Scottish side Aberdeen gave them an almighty reality check - albeit in a ‘nothing game’. That one win against Bayern followed a 5 game winless streak which included their shock cup exit against third tier Saarbrucken. Whilst Bayer 04 fans were confident, as they rightfully should be, some degree of doubt would have been understandable - even if the Werkself have not won more games at home against any other opponent. With the top game of the matchday, Bayern v Stuttgart ensuing immediately after, a lot was at stake for Leverkusen as they sought to both extend their lead at the top of the table and confirm their status as Christmas champions.
In regards to the lineups, it was once again the same old story in the league with Bayer 04. Despite eight changes from Thursday, all the familiar faces took their places once again from Frimpong to Wirtz to Boniface. As for the guests however, their team was not to be quite so predictable. An apparent personnel crisis, made worse in their Conference League clash, appeared to have ruled numerous key players out with others doubtful for the Eagles, but whilst a few did not participate of course like Omar Marmoush (suspended), the rumours were revealed to be overblown. Algerian Fares Chaibi started, leading the line despite concerns of illness ruling him out, as did one of the key architects of Bayern’s downfall Junior Dina Ebimbe who was diagnosed with a sprained foot just two days ago. Eintracht made five changes in total.
There was much fan furore following this weeks vote by the DFL to allow an investor to buy up to a billion euro stake in media rights, with many Bundesliga games subject to a 12 minute silence (referencing fans being the 12th man) and some going further than that - during Bochum’s clash with Union Berlin yesterday afternoon, chocolate coins were also thrown onto the pitch. Given Leverkusen's history, and the vocal support of club CEO Fernando Carro of the decision, unsurprisingly no such fan revolt took place, as Frankfurt supporters raged in their cacophony of boos following the opening period of the match. From the first minute, Frankfurt looked to press Leverkusen hard and be as physical as possible as evidenced by Boniface’s early collapse to the ground following a nasty clip on the heel which left him crouched in pain for nearly a minute (3rd minute). It was that relentlessness which generated their first chance of the game. Pushing Leverkusen’s defenders back right to their own byline, Gotze managed to pressure the ordinarily composed Tapsoba into conceding a corner. Chaibi’s delivery was initially well-defended but an eventual shot from Ecuadorian centre back William Pacho, whilst on target, lacked the necessary power to beat in-form Lukas Hradecky (5th minute). The first ten minutes saw Frankfurt play in the same manner as Stuttgart last Sunday, having identified Xhaka and Palacios in particular as key players to nullify with the conductors being allowed no time whatsoever. The first booking of the game came in the 12th minute - Exequiel Palacios was shown a yellow card for an aggressive diving challenge into Buta, who shifted the ball to his other foot just in time to draw the foul.
For all of Eintracht’s early promise, a couple of minutes later, Kossounou broke the press by placing a line-splitting pass to Florian Wirtz, then finding the mercurial Victor Boniface who took full advantage of the retreating Tuta before curling a low shot from just outside the box, bouncing at just the right time, to beat the diving Kevin Trapp. The Nigerian’s 9th goal of the Bundesliga season may have come against the run of play, but it was exactly the impetus the Werkself needed to regain their confidence and control.The control gained was not in the possession game, but rather in their containment of Frankfurt as for the following 14 minutes or so, Frankfurt kept possession of the ball without even remotely threatening Bayer 04’s goal - always being held back at a safe distance. At 28 minutes, a long, hopeful ball over the top from the Eagles’ defence found Ansgar Knauff, but his volley was well blocked by Jonathan Tah. The first half hour was uneventful to say the least with just three shots from both teams combined. World Cup winner Mario Gotze was shown a yellow card on the edge of the Frankfurt box as his high boot hit the face of Granit Xhaka (33rd minute). The subsequent freekick from this season’s set-piece supremo Alejandro Grimaldo was extremely close to going in, grazing the crossbar on the top right corner of the goal. The rest of the first half was dominated by Bayer 04 but although there were plenty of ventures into dangerous positions, an accurate final pass (particularly from Frimpong who did not have much luck with crosses) was lacking. The half-time statistics made for grim reading, for neutrals at least, with the 0.15 xG for Leverkusen and 0.16xG for Frankfurt being an accurate representation of the game up to that point. The possession stats read 61% to 39% in favour of the hosts and just two shots each further emphasising the stalemate. The only stat that matters of course is the 1-0 lead however!
Thankfully the second half was like a totally different game of football with plenty more chances generated, especially for the Schwarzroten. The first big opportunity of the second half fell to Florian Wirtz (50th minute) - after Pacho gives the ball away to Boniface, the ball is later crossed in but is deflected, landing at the feet of the 20-year-old who hooks it just wide of the left post. Just two minutes later, Palacios was able to run through the midfield before slipping the ball into the feet of Boniface who takes a touch before having his shot saved - only into the path of the prolific Jeremie Frimpong who had an easy tap in for 2-0, making it seven goals and nine assists in all competitions this season. 2-0 was soon to become 3-0. On 57 minutes, Hradecky’s clearance found Boniface, who naturally controls the ball with ease before turning to play Wirtz through who had deliberately held himself back to time his run perfectly. To his right, he had Jeremie Frimpong putting on the afterburners to grab his potential brace but the magician Wirtz did not need him, deftly chipping the onrushing Trapp with the ball floating gently into the corner of the goal. From goalkeeper to goal in just a blink of an eye, with all the world class technique involved, it is a goal you just have to see for yourself - again and again. Significantly, that was the 42nd goal of the Bundesliga season so far - after 16 matches, Leverkusen have never scored so many.The match then had another brief lull in terms of chances as the hosts continued to boss the possession of the ball, even more so than at the end of the first half. It livened up considerably later on though. At 70 minutes, an attempted Grimaldo cross into Boniface was blocked, with the ball falling back into the feet of the Spaniard who then somewhat scuffed his right-footed shot, easily saved by Trapp. Seconds later, at the other end, Chaibi - kept quiet for most of the match - let go a bending shot headed towards the top right corner of the goal but our captain made a flying save to divert it behind for a corner. Seconds after coming on, a magnetised Frimpong cross found the head of the rejuvenated Patrik Schick but although it was a bullet header, it was straight into the grateful gloves of the goalkeeper (72nd minute). On 81 minutes, Jeremie Frimpong played a crossfield ball to Wirtz who then used the inside of his foot to curl a delightful attempt, which hit the crossbar giving Trapp no chance. The still vibrating woodwork in front of the Nordkurve would soon rattle again as substitute Nathan Tella beat his man to drill in a fierce cross across the face of goal. Piero Hincapie slides in from about a metre to meet it however the ball painfully clashes against the post before the follow up shot is skied (84th minute). It could have so easily been 4-0 in stoppage time as Nathan Tella found himself alone racing towards the Frankfurt goal after a late corner. He looked poised to put the icing on the cake until William Pacho intervened from behind to deny him (94th minute). At first referee Christian Dingert pointed to the spot and awarded a yellow card, but after being prompted by VAR to check the monitor for himself, quickly changed his mind to give a corner instead. 3-0 to Leverkusen the final score, a much deserved win.
The win increased the Werkself’s impressive points tally to 39 and guaranteed their status as Christmas champions before the final game of 2023 against VFL Bochum on Wednesday night. It also extended the unbeaten streak to a run of 24 games, equalling Hamburg’s start to the 1982/83 season (who eventually became champions). Unfortunately Bayer 04 could not count on a favour from fellow high-fliers Stuttgart who could not put on the same fight as last week, losing 3-0 away at the Allianz Arena, which keeps the race as close as ever, especially with Bayern having a game in hand. But if Alonso is now saying that “the fans can dream”, maybe we should - after all, he has not yet been proven wrong once so far this season…
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