After two wins in succession, Bayer 04 had to settle for one point in Bochum – that was also due to the improper and thereby missed penalty from Moussa Diaby on 65 minutes. The France international touched the ball with his standing leg as he was about to shoot. But everything in order: With three changes to the starting line-up compared with the 2-1 home win against Hertha Berlin, the Werkself had the first chance of the game through Patrik Schick (4'). That was followed 20 minutes later by Mitchel Bakker coming on to replace the injured Jonathan Tah. The best chance of the first half fell to the hosts: Bochum's left-back Danilo Soares cut inside and shot from 20 yards out but the slightly deflected effort hit the bar of Lukas Hradecky’s goal (42').
The battling Bochum side remained on the front foot at the start of the second half. The biggest chance fell to the visitors – as previously mentioned to Diaby to be more exact. But nothing came of an important opener. Bochum continued to press and made life difficult for the Werkself. Lukas Hradecky saved a header from Danny Blum on 86 minutes. That was followed by the final whistle and the game ending goalless.
Head coach Gerardo Seoane summed up proceedings at the post-match press conference as follows: "We didn't succeed in posing enough problems for the Bochum defence. So the draw is ok." Looking at the position of the top of the Bundesliga table the Swiss coach added: "The state of the table and possible head-to-head matches in a few weeks don't interest me. We will analyse the match against Bochum, take care of the injured players over the next few days and then look forward to the match against Leipzig."
Midfield dynamo Robert Andrich saw a solid Leverkusen defence, "but we didn't do enough up front." And he continued: "If the penalty goes in then we take the three points. So, we'll have to live with the draw."
Key defender Jonathan Tah suffered an injury on 27 minutes in a challenge with Sebastian Polter and immediately indicated he needed to be substituted. Gerardo Seoane told Mitchel Bakker to pull on his shirt and put his shin guards in his socks and then the Dutchman came on to replace Tah playing on the left side with Piero Hincapie moving alongside Edmond Tapsoba in central defence.
VfL Bochum had the edge with the total number of shots on goal (12:9). However, Bayer 04 had the upper hand in relation to possession (59%), challenges (52%) and pass completion (79%, Bochum: 73%). A special point from a Black and Red perspective: A game involving Bayer 04 ended goalless for the first time this season.
kicker summed up #BOCB04 as follows: "A deserved draw. Both teams were too harmless to come out on top." The headlines are primarily concerned with the penalty miss by Diaby and comparisons were made with FC Köln player Florian Kainz: The Austria international also slipped taking a spot kick in the penalty shootout against Hamburg SV in the DFB Cup Round of 16 tie on 18 January when he hit the ball against himself. The Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger assessment of the match was: "The Sunday afternoon at Bochum's wonderfully atmospheric Ruhrstadion was characterised by slips and stumbles."
No question: RB Leipzig are currently flying high. The team from Saxony have collected an impressive 29 points in the twelve games since the winter break and they have also scored the most goals and conceded the least. The team coached by Domenico Tedesco visits the BayArena on Easter Sunday 17 April. The clash of third against fourth kicks off at 19.30 CEST.
Monster Energy has been a partner in the Sponsors Club at Bayer 04 Leverkusen since the start of the 2023/24 season. Monster Energy has shown their products at Werkself home games on the LED advertising hoardings at the BayArena. Monster Energy activated the next stage of the partnership with the current Bundesliga league leaders for Bayer 04’s home game against Union Berlin in the middle of November. Monster Energy will continue to present themselves as a reliable and ambitious partner to Leverkusen fans through similar promotional events as at the game against Union Berlin.
Show moreBayer 04 involvement with the ‘Kältegang Leverkusen’ project continues this winter. The current Bundesliga league leaders and their fans again presented financial and in-kind donations to the homeless charity at home game against Borussia Dortmund (1-1).
Show moreThe Werkself remain unbeaten after the 1-1 draw with Borussia Dortmund on Bundesliga Matchday 13. The one-sided game demanded a lot of strength of nerve and competitive spirit from Xabi Alonso's team. In the end, Victor Boniface rewarded the relentless attacking efforts of the league leaders against passive but efficient visitors. The Werkself review.
Show moreBayer 04 were held to a 1-1 draw by Borussia Dortmund on Matchday 13 in the Bundesliga. Julian Ryerson had put the visitors in front at a sold-out BayArena after only five minutes. Leverkusen would go on to dominate proceedings and finally get their deserved equaliser through Victor Boniface in the 79th minute. It’s a result that extends the Werkself’s unbeaten run in all competitions this season to 20 matches.
Show moreFor the 17th time, Bayer 04 Sportförderung gGmbH has awarded the Volunteers Award for outstanding commitment to football in Leverkusen and the surrounding region. The three outstanding clubs in 2023 are BSV Roleber 1919, TuS 05 Oberpleis and SV 1924 Glehn. They will each receive prize money of €5,000.
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