After last week’s finishing disasterclass against Borussia Monchengladbach, Leverkusen had the opportunity to prove that the first 0-0 draw of the season was nothing more than a fluke - an away game at last placed SV Darmstadt 98. With just 11 points to Leverkusen’s 49, and by far the worst defence in the league with 47 goals conceded before the start of play, on paper it seemed like it would be a walkover. But although the hosts were dropping points left, right and centre (with a loss or draw they would record their joint-worst ever winless streak - 13 matches), looking at their recent results in particular, they rarely went down without a fight - in the 10 fixtures since the 8-0 annihilation at the hands of Bayern, they only once lost by more than a single goal (3-0 to Dortmund). That points to strong defensive tactics (perhaps let down by individual quality) and team spirit - two things that were not overcome by the Werkself last time out. In view of the season-defining week ahead, this game could be seen as little more than a warm up exercise. But with Bayern Munich refusing to drop points consistently in their pursuit, despite their skeletal squad, every fixture had to be taken with the utmost seriousness. After all, with a potential 5 point cushion over the record champions next Saturday, the whole situation would change.
With an eye on the English week ahead, manager Xabi Alonso put it on himself to make the necessary changes, some forced, some voluntary, to get the best combination of resting key players whilst ensuring the team playing was more than up to the task in front of them. In goal, as expected, captain Lukas Hradecky returned, whilst Jonathan Tah went into the heart of defence following his yellow card suspension. Given Nadiem Amiri’s deadline day departure to FSV Mainz, Robert Andrich reverted back to his preferred midfield position alongside Granit Xhaka. The inclusion of the Switzerland captain in the starting eleven was an eyebrow raiser for many fans as it carried a big risk - if he was booked, he would miss the crucial clash against Bayern! On the right, Nathan Tella replaced Frimpong, who has recently struggled for form, and in the forward positions, Adam Hlozek replaced Hofmann and Borja Iglesias made his debut in place of Schick. An interesting fact from Kicker - with his substitution in yesterday’s game, Hlozek became the player with the most Bundesliga appearances, without having lasted a full match (45 matches). Edmond Tapsoba and Amine Adli returned to the bench after both suffered early exits in the round of 16 at the AFCON.
For the hosts, there was a similar drastic transformation in the team selection - there was a change in formation from 3-3-3-1 to a more conventional 4-2-3-1, and no less than 5 changes to personnel. Last week’s 1-0 defeat away at Union Berlin was not kind to Darmstadt, with both defender Clemens Riedel and midfielder Fabian Nurnberger withdrawing early with ankle injuries. As a result, a new-look backline was in order - Karic started at left back, joined by Maglica and Zimmerman in central defence, with Bader retaining his place on the right. Following his transfer from Bochum, Filipino international Gerrit Holtmann made his debut on the right wing, with Vilhemsson on the opposite flank. The 1.96m Luca Pfeiffer was the target man to handle up front.
The game kicked off at the Merck-Stadion am Bollenfalltor and it was made immediately clear that the Lilies meant business - 20 seconds was all it took for their first chance of the game, Holtmann firing a shot high and wide from a tight angle (1’). The opening minutes were relatively devoid of action - the game being played almost exclusively in the midfield. Darmstadt were being physical and pressing well, having a surprisingly high amount of the ball. In the 6th minute, Robert Andrich received a yellow card for a high boot when competing for the ball with Fabian Holland. It took until the 16th minute for the next scoring chance - a long ball from Xhaka found Grimaldo and the Spaniard immediately cut it back to Hlozek. The Czech took a touch and opened up his body to shoot but his effort went just wide of the right post. The persistent threat from the counter attack, particularly from the pacey Holtmann, was evidenced when he once again raced down the flanks before putting in an enticing cross which Xhaka had to clear behind for the corner, though no blue shirts were otherwise available (19’). The subsequent corner from Holland did not result in much either as Zimmerman’s header was catching practice for Hradecky (20’). The next big chances also fell to the home team. In the 24th minute, Luca Pfeiffer took a great first chance that allowed him to turn away from Tah but his rushed shot found the gloves of Hradecky once again. Then, in a comedy of errors as calamitous as Frimpong’s clearance/shot last week, Vilhelmsson found Tim Skarke in the box, who swung and miskicked his attempt at goal - still it rolled to Pfeiffer who also completely fluffed his effort (28’). A massive let off for Bayer 04. Fortunately, that was probably their best chance to take the lead all game, and it helped give the Werkself the kick they needed to refocus and show what they were all about.
And they did too - following a deflected Hincapie effort which looped into Schuhen’s arms (32’), Xhaka passed forward to Wirtz who then laid it off to Grimaldo. The best attacking wingback in Europe took a touch then lofted a perfect cross to the far post where Tella was able to head it in from close range to make it 1-0 (33’)! That assist brought Grimaldo’s tally to 10 for the season in the league, and in terms of goals and assists, 20 in all competitions - an outstanding statistic that most forwards would be proud of. Another corner for the Lilies was once again unfruitful as Karic’s header again proved no trouble for Hradecky (38’). Whilst the overall team performance for Bayer 04 was more than satisfactory, those spectators keen to get to see new signing Borja Iglesias in action were disappointed. At half-time for example, the total number of touches recorded by the on-loan Betis striker totalled just 10! That wasn’t to say he was completely devoid of anything promising. In the 41st minute, Xhaka (at first confused as to why the referee was playing advantage) crossed the ball into the 31-year-old but Schuhen positioned himself so well that Iglesias’ chipped attempt was barely able to leave the ground, let alone get past him. Not that it would have mattered as he was clearly in an offside position anyway.
A minute later, the ‘Panda’ became the provider, laying the ball off to Robert Andrich who smashed the ball towards goal from just outside the box, but once again Schuhen was able to dive to his left to send it behind for a corner (42’). Grimaldo’s corner found Stanisic but his header was blocked; the deflection fell to Hlozek who then blazed it over - literally out of the stadium (43’)! Iglesias and Hlozek then both pressed brilliantly, forcing Fabian Holland into an error, conceding possession to Wirtz. The wonderkid then took a rather tame shot by his standards from just outside the penalty area, easily saved by the Darmstadt keeper. The final chance of the first period came to Pfeiffer - Karic completed a one-two with Holtmann, getting beyond Stanisic, before drilling the ball low into the penalty area to the feet of Pfeiffer - once again, the ball seemed magnetised to Hradecky’s gloves, proving to be no test for the Finn whatsoever. The first half statistics showed Leverkusen to be by far the dominant team - 68% possession with 10 shots and 5 on target for the guests with an xG figure of 1.34 to 0.55 for the hosts. That being said, given how threatening Darmstadt had been on the counter, everything could change in the second half, provided that the Werkself didn’t tighten up at the back. Encouragement would have been taken from the surprise result at the Allianz Arena - Monchengladbach were holding Bayern to a 1-1 draw, a potentially season-defining scoreline if things remained that way!
The half time break, once again, proved to be of huge benefit to Bayer Leverkusen, coming back out stronger and more authoritative than before. That being said, good chances were still at a relative premium compared to most matches this season. In the 49th minute there was a brief injury scare when following an intelligent bit of skill by Wirtz that would have seen him burst past former Norwich man Zimmerman, the defender plunged his foot into his which required some treatment from the medical team. Fortunately, the playmaker was able to resume play without any sign of injury - as shown shortly afterwards when, after receiving an incisive forward pass from Xhaka, he turned, faked a shot, before threading a deliberately delayed ball into marauding Nathan Tella. The Nigerian thundered in a first time shot into the top right corner from the right hand side of the penalty area (52’) - with a shot speed of 110 km/h, it was like a bullet even in slow motion! The next quarter of an hour was quite quiet, and other than a deflected Tella chance to complete his hattrick (59’), there was little else of note.
Bartol Franjic received yellow for holding back Hlozek in the 67th minute, before the young Czech attacker got booked himself for taking down Marvin Mehlem who was making his return after recovering from a broken leg (74’). An ill-thought pass from Schuhen was intercepted by Iglesias, feeding Hlozek before laying it off to Wirtz. His shot unfortunately rattled off the bar, making it his third off the woodwork this season in the league - joint highest among all Bundesliga players (75’). The guests continued to pass the ball around well, ensuring it was almost always well out of reach for the Lilies but the only chances created by both sides were either half chances or blocked shots such as in the 76th minute when a goalbound attempt from Hlozek was denied excellently by Zimmerman following a burst down the right side by Tella. Debutant Borja Iglesias nearly sealed a promising first outing with a very good goal, showing the crowd exactly why he was brought in by Rolfes. The Spaniard used his considerable strength expertly to outmuscle Zimmerman and get past him to reach the end of a Stanisic long ball. He took one touch to take the ball down but given the physical pressure he was being put under, had to rush his shot whilst falling backwards which was saved by the legs of Schuhen (93’). That was the final opportunity of the match, with the final score a richly deserved 2-0.
Whilst the win did not bring with it an extension of the lead held over Bayern Munich, who finished their game 3-1 winners, it did take Leverkusen to 52 points, already two clear of last season’s final tally, and increased the unbeaten streak to 29 games - this was a new club record, beating the 28 matches unbeaten in the 1978/79 promotion campaign. It also means that crucially, the Werkself head into their most important week of the season so far with momentum. Next up is Stuttgart in the DFB Pokal, who now have top scorer Guirassy back, not that they have needed him, with Deniz Undav proving to be just as dangerous in his absence. A memorable night of football awaits on Tuesday - hopefully it lives up to the hype. In the meantime, Werkself fans can relax and be happy for yet another week as the Spitzenreiter!
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