In the Saturday evening top game, high-flying league leaders Bayer Leverkusen travelled to the East of Germany to face the wounded, but nevertheless dangerous, RB Leipzig. Leverkusen were of course fresh from the euphoria of last Saturday’s madness against Augsburg, a match that resulted in a thoroughly deserved 1-0 win, made even better by the last gasp nature of it all - testament to a championship winning mentality and team spirit. The team from Saxony on the other hand did not get anything from their best efforts. 31 - that was how many attempts Leipzig generated against Frankfurt, but that yielded not one single goal. At the other end, they conceded just one shot on target, which happened to be the only goal of the game - just not their day. Given the team consisted of top attacking talent such as Lois Openda, Xavi Simons and Benjamin Sesko to name just a few, Leverkusen would have been hoping for a miracle if they thought such a woeful display of finishing would happen again. The significance of the game could not be understated enough. Were Leverkusen to win, they would extend the lead over Bayern to seven points, whilst also showing that a less than optimal squad was still good enough to beat one of Germany’s toughest teams. But were the hosts to prevail, or even draw, given Bayern’s game in hand, Bayern Munich would then have a golden opportunity to capitalise on and return to the top of the table by next weekend should they win versus Werder Bremen on Sunday and Union Berlin on Wednesday. Victory was crucial.
With regards to the team news, both managers understandably went all out, picking the strongest possible starting elevens at their disposal. Leipzig stuck with their usual 4-4-2 formation - Mohamed Simikan shifted to right back, in place of former Werkself player Benny Henrichs, and Castello Lukeba returned to the central defence. Former Bayer 04 transfer target Nicolas Seiwald replaced another ex-Leverkusener, Kevin Kampl, in midfield whilst Dani Olmo made his first start since October after recovering from a serious shoulder injury. For the guests, there were two changes from the side that stole the points at the death last time out - both of which were wholly predictable. Having been rested from the start to reduce risk of inflaming a knee issue, Florian Wirtz rejoined Schick and Hofmann in his usual place in attack whilst Tah, similarly rested to avoid a yellow card ban, replaced Andrich in defence who looked a bit out of depth at times with Augsburg’s direct counter attacks. With injuries and AFCON, which only took Malian Amadou Haidara from Leipzig, the hosts had a much more formidable bench to call upon.
Snow continued to plague eastern Germany, with Friday evening’s game between Union Berlin and Heidenheim being postponed, and unsurprisingly Leipzig was well covered in the white stuff, making it a rather treacherous journey for the travelling fans in particular. Thankfully the pitch was fine and the game could get underway without worry. After kickoff, it became clear that one team was a lot more ‘with it’ than the other. Unfortunately for Leverkusen fans, that team was Leipzig. 5 minutes into the match, the first big chance fell to the home team. Sesko got through and whilst Palacios managed to slide and nudge the ball away from the Slovenian, it was not cleared properly however and his strike partner Openda shot the ball stingingly at Hradecky which was then put out of danger. A minute later, at the other end, Xhaka attempted a long range effort though it was never going to challenge Blaswich in goal; well over the target (6’). Leipzig were unbelievable and too hot to handle early on for the Werkself, and it did not take too long for them to make their pressure pay. First Sesko, of the Boniface mould of strikers, beat Tah 1v1, and then finds Xaver Schlager who chips the ball over to Xavi. Taking two touches on the edge of the box, the ball bounces, and then he half-volleys it into the bottom right corner (8’) - very similar to Dele Alli’s goal for Tottenham against Crystal Palace - a world class goal which proves why Xavi Simons is one of the best rising stars in football. Panicked, chaotic and slow to react - that would be an accurate description of the defending by the Werkself in the first half. On 9 minutes, Dani Olmo ran down the left wing before crossing a fast, low ball in for Sesko. He slides in, connects, but his long legs steer the ball just wide.The first yellow card in the game was awarded to a Leverkusen player - Jonathan Tah - after he ‘allegedly’ fouled Openda (12’). ‘Allegedly’ as the TV replays showed that there was very minimal, if any, contact to bring the Belgian down. Given it is Tah’s fifth of the season, it means that he will unfortunately miss the match against Monchengladbach next week as a consequence. In the 14th minute, Dani Olmo tried to curl in an attempt from outside the penalty area but it isn’t able to bend enough, narrowly missing the target. The first big Leverkusen chance of the night was when Frimpong found Schick, who immediately passed to Hofmann, then cutting it back to Grimaldo - excellent one touch football - but the Spaniard’s shot was palmed easily enough by Blaswich (17’). Hradecky misplaces a pass and the ball finds its way to Simikan. The right back strikes it hard and low from range but Hradecky is able to make up for it, diving to make the save - and again as Simikan had another attempt in the recycled attack (22’).
Following a challenge on Leipzig’s David Raum, Frimpong went down with an apparent knee injury. The medical staff rushed on the pitch, and after giving the ‘magic sponge’, the flying fullback was able to return to the pitch - for the time being at least (23’). After a good spell of possession, Leverkusen were finally able to break through the compact Leipzig defence, and on his second attempt, Grimaldo played it across to Palacios who was unable to draw on his recent goal scoring skills, firing it off target (27’). Despite his best efforts to continue, the pain became too much for Frimpong to bear, dropped to the ground and in the 30th minute, he was substituted by Nathan Tella. Leverkusen were starting to find their feet in the game, able to keep the ball more and began to assert themselves. From a free kick, Granit Xhaka laid the ball off to Hofmann who shot low from well out, but wide of the left post (31’). In the 38th minute, there was a 2v2 situation by the halfway line with Openda and Sesko storming forwards. Knowing their quality and sheer speed, Stanisic leaned into Openda to bring him down. Referee Matthias Jollenbeck initially tried to play the advantage but there was none to be had so the Croatian was booked for his tactical foul. Another example of giving it all for the team, at least this time legally, was by Piero Hincapie who put in a majestic last ditch challenge to deny Sesko who was otherwise 1v1 with the goalkeeper (42’). The average positions graphic at half time showed how compact and organised the home team were - it was up to Leverkusen to stretch them and break their resolve. They so nearly did so as in stoppage time of the first half, after putting the Leipzig defence under sustained pressure, Schick volleyed at goal but Lukas Klostermann ably blocked. It was one of the most difficult halves of football for the Werkself all season - perhaps only the first half against Stuttgart could compare - and there had to be a huge resurgence in the second half to have any hope of getting back in the game. At half time, RB Leipzig had an xG of 0.7 to 0.23 for Bayer 04, and 7 shots (4 on target) for the hosts and 6 shots (none on target) for the Werkself - though it must be said that there was never any sign of danger near the Red Bulls’ goal throughout.
The half time break is always a good opportunity to refresh, motivate and remind players of their instructions of the pitch, to hopefully come out in the second half a different beast. This is where Alonso comes into his element - whether it was against Stuttgart, Dortmund or just about anyone else, the team has always been an improved version of themselves in the latter period of the game. This time, the message of the coach was simple - “we can win, we can lose, but let's try and do it our way”. Perhaps the biggest problem for the Leverkusen players in the first half was that Leipzig had almost frightened them into submission, and so much of what had brought so much success for the club up to this point had been forgotten. Whilst a simple message, it was effective, and as soon as the whistle blew, it was like the first half never happened. The ball was being passed around quickly and comfortably and in just the 47th minute, following a great spell of possession, Hofmann laid it off to Grimaldo who fizzed in a dangerous low cross across the six-yard box. Schick slid in but missed, but at the back post a grateful Nathan Tella gleefully tapped it in, fulfilling his Frimpong replacement role perfectly. That goal proved to be a real shot in the arm for the Schwarzroten with two great opportunities for Schick (through ball from the left from Wirtz, hitting the side netting - 51st minute) and Wirtz (Palacios plays through Wirtz who has his shot saved by Blaswich - 55th minute) following soon after. However, for all their new found dominance, they could not make it count. Following an uncharacteristically horrendous Grimaldo corner, Xavi Simons skilfully beat his man on the edge of his own penalty area before carrying the ball up the pitch, switching the play to Dani Olmo on the other side, who immediately played a first-time pass onto Openda, who running onto the ball, smashed it past Hradecky; whilst the Leverkusen captain did get hand on the ball, it was just too hot to handle (56’). So in about ten seconds, all the progress made was suddenly unravelled and once again, Leverkusen were chasing the game. Astonishingly, it was the first goal conceded by Leverkusen from a counterattack all season.
Three minutes later, the hosts nearly dealt the suckerpunch - Xavi played through Sesko who hit a first time shot on target but thankfully Hradecky was on hand to save the day once again denying the young talent a possible winning goal (59’). But you should never count out Leverkusen - this season they never know when to give up. In the 63rd minute, Jonas Hofmann’s corner curled high and over to the far post to Jonathan Tah who headed powerfully downwards to make it 2-2! Given his marker was 5’9” Xaver Schlager, there would only ever be one winner. The resurgence Leverkusen had made in the second half was well reflected in the possession statistic - between the 45th and 65th minutes, possession was 70% in favour of the visitors! Soon after (68’), Wirtz completes a one-two with Patrik Schick before placing his first time effort just right of the right post. A minute later, following a free kick, the ball bounces out to Grimaldo but his deflected effort from just outside the penalty area flies just over for a corner kick. Bayer 04 were now passing the ball for fun, drawing ire from the home fans as they kept hold of the ball for minutes at a time - the home side could get nowhere near it! Following a Wirtz corner that was initially parried away by Blaswich, the attack was kept alive before Hincapie struck one low and straight at Blaswich (83’). Set pieces would continue to trouble the hosts as a Stanisic header from a Hofmann free kick sailed just over the bar (85’). Palacios, having pulled up hurt a few minutes prior, was substituted by Andrich in the 88th minute, perhaps precautionary, but nevertheless worrying. Tests for both him and Frimpong are expected to take place either today (Sunday) or Monday. Fingers crossed that there is nothing serious. With the clock ticking down, the fans that would have been praying for a draw at half time, were now aching for a winner which was so richly deserved. And they got it - ‘Last-minute-kusen’ (per Bayer Leverkusen’s English Twitter account) did it again. In stoppage time, Grimaldo’s corner is aimed once again at the far post and is met perfectly by Hincapie who slid in to make it 3-2 (91’)! The roof of the Red Bull Arena was nearly lifted off by the travelling fans, and as the players raced away to celebrate, they all carried the same unadulterated joy. Even on the bench, the staff and players lost control of themselves in their jubilation - Xabi Alonso almost losing his footing as he almost ran onto the pitch (given he was on a yellow already, it would not have been the wisest idea)! Interestingly, that Hincapie goal was the 11th goal scored from a set piece this season in the Bundesliga - the same amount as all of the season before! At full time, the roars of the players were audible even from the stands and on the TV back home as the home fans were stunned into silence. 3-2 the final score of one of the most important games of the season!
Bayern Munich fans were reeling from the defeat almost as much as the Leipzig ones - now Bayer 04 extended their lead to 7 points over the Rekordmeister, with them playing later this afternoon. The second, and one of the most difficult and important AFCON tests had been passed with flying colours. Now the eyes are on Bayern Munich and how they will deal with Bremen, Union Berlin and Augsburg - as well as Frimpong and Palacios. Thankfully we are still in the January transfer window so there is time to react, but things have been very quiet on the access front. Both players, especially Palacios in midfield, have been vital to our success - a prolonged absence from either could threaten to derail the season. For now we can only wait and hope for a positive diagnosis. Next up for the Werkself is a home game against the foals from Monchengladbach. A much more achievable game on paper but one that absolutely cannot be taken for granted - especially should the worst fears with injuries be confirmed. For now we can and should celebrate yet another euphoric victory and the joint second longest unbeaten streak in Bundesliga history (27 matches in all competitions, behind Bayern - 32 in 2019/20). Over to Bayern Munich.
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