Head coach Gerardo Seoane made three changes to his side that started in the 1-1 draw at Hertha Berlin: Daley Sinkgraven, Florian Wirtz and Nadiem Amiri came in for Piero Hincapie, Exequiel Palacios and Paulinho (all on the bench).
The Werkself made a fantastic start and had the ball in the back of the net after three minutes: Moussa Diaby put the ball through to Jeremie Frimpong on the right wing and he crossed from the byline to the far post to Amine Adli. The header from the Frenchman was cleared by Manuel Riemann but the ball was over the line – an early 1-0 lead for the Black and Reds.
Bochum soon responded with a free kick from Eduard Löwen from 25 yards out but that was comfortably saved by the Bayer 04 keeper Lukas Hradecky (8'). At the other end, Riemann would have been helpless to keep out a Wirtz header few minutes later. However, the youngster headed a brilliant cross from Robert Andrich just wide of the target (16').
Both teams played on the front foot – even though VfL Bochum were more defensively organised and increasingly relied on counter-attacks. Both sides were keen to attack. The next notable move came from the visitors: After an unsuccessful corner from the Werkself, Bochum stepped up a gear and quickly moved up to the Leverkusen penalty area. In the end, Takuma Asano had a great chance to level but Jonathan Tah was in the right spot to clear the ball off the line – good luck for the Seoane team (26').
Bayer 04 had two great chances to increase their lead six minutes before half-time. Wirtz lacked accuracy (39') and then Riemann pulled off a great save to deny Sinkgraven (42'). The Black and Reds took a 1-0 lead into the break.
The visitors came out fighting in the second half and pressed for the equaliser. Edmond Tapsoba and Co. were on their toes and defended well in front of their own goal – VfL were unable to create any positive chances to upset the Leverkusen defence. At the other end, Wirtz had chances to double the lead: The 18-year-old was on his own after a Bochum corner but his finish was too hectic and his shot from 16 yards out was wide of Riemann's goal.
The Werkself were increasingly passive in the second half and the visitors had more of the game. But VfL striker Sebastian Polter and his fellow attackers did not really pose a threat. Asano had the best chance but Hradecky saved the long-range effort (67'). Substitute Paulinho had an opportunity chance to seal the game with 15 minutes to play: The Brazilian was through on Riemann but was unable to beat him – the VfL keeper produced a brilliant reflex save (77'). That was the final dangerous situation for both sides as the match ended in a 1-0 home win for the Black and Reds.
After four league games without a win, Bayer 04 picked up three important points. As VfL Wolfsburg were only able to draw 2-2 against Arminia Bielefeld, the Seoane team have moved up to fourth in the table. Kerem Demirbay and Co. are back in action on Thursday, 25 November (kick-off: 18.45 CET). Celtic visit the BayArena in the Europa League
Match stats:
Bayer 04: Hradecky – Frimpong, Tapsoba, Tah, Sinkgraven (Hincapie 76') – Andrich, Demirbay (Palacios 65') – Diaby, Wirtz (Kossounou 90’), Amiri (Paulinho 76’) – Adli
Bochum: Riemann – Stafylidis, Lampropoulos, Masovic, Soares – Löwen (Novothny 82’), Losilla, Rexhbecaj (Pantovic 69’) – Asano, Polter (Ganvoula 82’), Antwi-Adjei (Bockhorn 69’)
Goals: 1-0 Adli (3’)
Booked: Frimpong, Diaby, Adli – Masovic, Soares
Referee: Daniel Schlager (Hügelsheim)
Attendance: 22,538
The European jersey has been launched, the UEL opponents have been drawn – and anticipation for the European campaign is running high. To mark the occasion, an autograph session was held on Friday afternoon, 28 August, at the Fanwelt with current Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and official club legend Paulo Sergio.
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After six and a half years, Exequiel Palacios is leaving the Bundesliga and moving from Bayer 04 to the Premier League. The Argentine, who as a Werkself player won the World Cup with his national team four years ago and finished as runners-up at this summer’s tournament, will play for newly promoted English side Ipswich Town with immediate effect. The 27-year-old, whose contract in Leverkusen was due to run until 30 June 2030, joined Bayer 04 in January 2020 as a promising young talent. He steadily developed into one of the best defensive midfielders in the German top flight.
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When Exequiel Palacios moved from the Argentinian club River Plate to Bayer Leverkusen on 1 January 2020, the then 21-year-old could not have imagined just how successful the next six and a half years would be for him. Pala, as he is known, had already won the Copa Libertadores – the most prestigious competition in South American club football – with River Plate. But there were still so many more trophies to come.
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To mark Exequiel Palacios’s departure, we’ve put together a compilation of the midfielder’s finest and most important goals from his six-and-a-half years at the club.
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