This was it, the first game of the rest of the season. This game was not just a quarter final, but a potential title decider. Bayer 04 Leverkusen and VFB Stuttgart. Two unlikely favourites, but given the craziness of the competition so far, favourites nonetheless. No Bayern Munich, no Dortmund, no Leipzig - just Borussia Mönchengladbach remained as the sole other Bundesliga participant (facing Saarbrucken on Wednesday evening). History would be written, but whose name would be on the trophy? Given each team’s indomitable playing style, and surprisingly high levels of consistency - particularly given that Stuttgart were participants in the last relegation playoff - it would defy logic to argue that it wouldn’t be one of these two. In the most recent meeting between the Werkself and the Schwaben at the MHPArena, fans were treated to a football spectacle (whilst only 1-1), that garnered mutual respect from both sets of fans. From a Bayer Leverkusen perspective, it was hoped that the team would display the level of performance of the second half, rather than the first - arguably the most nerve wracking 45 minutes of football Leverkusen fans had to endure all season! A positive omen before the match: Leverkusen played, at home, to VFB Stuttgart three years ago to the day - Bayer 04 ran out 5-2 winners. Fingers were crossed for more of the same.
Unlike for the visitors, this was the first of two massive games for Leverkusen. Thankfully, the temptation to rest players for the blockbuster Bundesliga clash on Saturday did not affect Xabi Alonso, who made sure to put out the absolute A-eleven. As usual in cup games, young Matej Kovar started in goal, in place of Hradecky, and following his shocking own-goal that helped kick Burkina Faso out of the AFCON (much to the glee of Werkself fans everywhere), Edmond Tapsoba returned to the right side of the back three. The only other quandaries for Alonso were how to replace the still injured Palacios (who should be back in time for the Bayern Munich game) and whether or not to reward Nathan Tella’s excellent form with a starting berth. To both questions, he answered with experience. Robert Andrich lined up next to Xhaka, whilst Frimpong started on the right. Predictably Schick (rested at the weekend for debutant Borja Iglesias) led the line, ably supported by the maestros Wirtz and Hofmann.
For Stuttgart, the big news was that Sebastian Hoeneß could still not count on his top scorer Serhou Guirassy, who despite playing at, and being knocked out of, the AFCON, was not on the plane (the environmental debate can be saved for another day) to Leverkusen. This was apparently due to a ‘gastro-intestinal issue’. As for the players that could play, Nubel was in goal, with a back three of Ito (following Japan’s 2-1 defeat to Iran on Saturday), Anton and Anthony Roualt who continues to deputise for the injured Zagadou. Mittelstadt and Vagnoman were the wingbacks and Angelo Stiller partnered Karazor in midfield. Deniz Undav, Chris Fuhrich and Enzo Millot formed the formidable attack; with 13 goals and 4 assists in the Bundesliga, defending Undav would be no easier task…
Under the floodlights at the Bayarena, the game got underway in expectedly frantic fashion.The opening minutes were markedly different to the last outing. Leverkusen were in control of the possession this time, and rather than crumbling under the intense Stuttgart pressure, for the most part, the Schwarzroten were able to play around them. Unfortunately for the home fans, there were no chances that resulted from the positive spell, and it took until the 11th minute for the first opportunity for any team to score. That was when Angelo Stiller lofted in an inviting corner kick to the far post where Waldemar Anton was free from his market, Tapsoba, to aim his header, looping over Kovar, into the right side of the net to make it 1-0. That was not an easy pill to swallow, but having been in the same situation in the previous match, despite some flashbacks, the belief was still there that this deficit would be overcome. Not a lot of interesting actions followed in the following period although Robert Andrich was shown a yellow card for a late challenge from behind on Atakan Karazor (18’). Then in the 23rd minute, during one of his trademark lightning runs, Frimpong fell down in the box after a tackle by Ito. Naturally the home fans were in uproar but a VAR check wasn’t carried out; the challenge was deemed fair and a corner was awarded instead. Then, a momentary lapse of concentration from Kovar was seized upon by the Stuttgart press, with Undav then passing it back to Karazor who, to the relief of the Czech goalkeeper, essentially passed the ball into his hands (25’) - the tireless pressure from the away team would be something that would trouble Leverkusen all match.Shortly afterwards, the much-improved Maximilian Mittelstadt was handed a yellow for stomping on Frimpong’s foot (26’).
Bayer 04 continued to dominate the overall possession statistics but compared to Stuttgart, it was slow, indirect and harmless - atypical of the team this season so far. Similarly unusual, Grimaldo received the ball on the edge of the left side of the box in his ‘favourite’ position but his usual world class technique deserted him - the ball went well over (29’). It was soon Frimpong’s turn to get booked - after being called offside, the Dutch international lashed out at the linesman, getting right into his face, but referee Daniel Schlager was having none of it. Despite being very unassuming in the match up to this point, Patrik Schick was instrumental in the next two flashpoints in the fixture. First, Schick got on the end of a long ball from Tapsoba and headed it down to Wirtz but the 20-year-old’s half volley goes just over the bar (39’). Then, following a delightful backheel from Xhaka, taking out three players, Grimaldo took a shot on his weaker right foot but was blocked. The ball deflects to Schick who taps it in the bottom right corner - however he was in an obviously offside position and the goal was rightfully disallowed (40’). Bayer Leverkusen were well and truly in the ascendancy and it was anticipated the home team would make their mark on the game sooner rather than later. Perhaps it would be via a Grimaldo free kick? In the 43rd minute, the set-piece specialist had another excellent opportunity to cement his reputation - whilst his effort was goalbound, on-loan goalkeeper Nubel got across well to make a diving save, preventing the ball from hitting the top-right corner of the net. The subsequent corner was played short to Hofmann, who then found Wirtz who dribbled to the byline before crossing it low to Schick. It was a golden opportunity, no more than a few yards in front of goal - but that just made the angles required to beat Nubel even tighter so his audacious backheel hit the goalkeeper’s leg and behind again for another corner (44’). Just before the half-time interval, Hiroki Ito made an enterprising run forward and was found by the impressive Fuhrich. The Japanese international smashed his attempt into the side netting, though had it been on target, Kovar would have been in trouble. In the last attack of the half, Enzo Millot fired a low cross into the box which narrowly missed Deniz Undav - the whistle blew for the break at just the right time for the hosts as a second Stuttgart goal could have been fatal. The statistics at half time represented a much improved performance from the Werkself compared to their last first half against the Swabians - 62% possession for the home team, as well as 7 shots (2 on target) versus 4 shots (2 on target) for Stuttgart. But would Leverkusen eventually succumb to their first defeat of the season, or would history repeat itself? All would be revealed in the next 15 minutes…
Whatever Alonso was doing in the dressing room to the team clearly had an effect as it was immediately evident that Bayer 04 had the upper hand once more. Not long after the restart, Florian Wirtz slotted through a ball that was deflected in his direction, to Patrik Schick; 1v1 against Nubel, his poked shot was saved - though with Anton tackling from behind, it wasn’t as easy a chance as it first seemed (48’). Then came a moment of brilliance - Hincapie moved the ball out wide to Grimaldo who attempted a low first-time cross which bounced off the foot of a Stuttgart defender into the possession of Robert Andrich who took just one touch before curling an absolute pearler into the top right corner from outside the box - if anyone was doubting the team that hadn’t lost in their previous 29 games, they certainly weren’t anymore! What an amazing strike. Stuttgart were rattled from that wonder goal clearly, and went back to apply the same intense pressure with improved results. Two half-chances, the first an Undav freekick from approximately 30 yards that was watched over the bar by an untroubled Kovar (52’), and the other, two blocked attempts from Anton following a corner (56’) threatened to turn the game on its head once again. But they did - in the 58th minute, the hero of the half so far, Andrich, miscontrolled a weighted pass from Kovar, conceding possession in front of the penalty area. The ball got to Millot who then put the ball through to Fuhrich in the box. The German winger then placed the ball perfectly into the top left corner of the net to make it 1-2. Suddenly, the Werkself were chasing the game once again. The game again had a very end to end feel to it, to the benefit (and detriment of both sides). A good through ball from Mittelstadt found Undav who struck a first time effort which was fortunately blocked by Hincapie (63’). But at the other end, Kovar launched a superhuman throw to the halfway line and Wirtz, who then carried the ball into the Stuttgart area before he was eventually tackled, just as he was about to pull the trigger - Hofmann was there to pick up the ball though but his attempt rolled agonisingly wide of the target (64’). A couple of minutes later, Leverkusen were able to capitalise on the faster tempo, with Wirtz completely cutting open the defence leaving recent substitution Amine Adli in a footrace with Hiroki Ito. Running into the box, Adli hit it underneath Nubel giving him no chance to react whatsoever for 2-2 (66’). Adli’s speed and much improved finishing prowess was missed in his absence, and he will surely be utilised further in the coming weeks and months.
Twice the comeback was completed, but Leverkusen now had to take the lead for themselves. Frimpong, clearly too fast for the entire Swabian team, got past his man before cutting it back to Borja Iglesias at the edge of the box; the Spaniard fired just wide (74’). Undav then had a chance to kill off the revitalised hopes of the home fans when, after receiving the ball from Fuhrich, turned sharply before unleashing a shot on target - though it must be said, it did not trouble Kovar who held onto the ball firmly (78’). Despite the urgency being exhibited by both teams, and the significance of victory, there were very few clear-cut chances for either team in the following ten minutes. That was until the 90th minute, when one team finally sealed the fate of the other. An Alejandro Grimaldo corner swung in but was headed clear, found Xhaka who then laid it off for Wirtz. The wonderkid then guided a floating pass onto the head of Jonathan Tah, the centre back powering his header down into the ground for 3-2! The roof of the Bayarena was lifted in the cacophony that followed. The semi-finals were in reach! Four minutes were added on and the last chance of the match fell to Deniz Undav but his shot was weak and gathered gratefully by Kovar, who was more than happy to take his time (90+4). 3-2 the final score, in yet another enthralling Leverkusen-Stuttgart tie.
The win takes Leverkusen through to the semi-finals for the first time since 2019/20, extends the unbeaten run to 30 games and, given the relative quality of the teams remaining, Leverkusen fans can be forgiven for already dreaming about Berlin. The draw for the semi-finals is set to take place on Sunday 11th February at 23:00 CET where Bayer 04 can face one of Kaiserslautern, Fortuna Dusseldorf or Borussia Monchengladbach/Saarbrucken and the matches will take place on either the 2nd or 3rd April. Celebrations for the players at least will not be too wild however as focus now shifts to the blockbuster fixture in Saturday’s Topspiel against Bayern Munich. Should the Werkself win that, a potential treble is truly on the cards…
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