Head coach Gerardo Seoane made two changes to his starting eleven compared with the line-up for the 4-1 away win at SpVgg Greuther Fürth. Midfielder Robert Andrich and versatile defender Piero Hincapie returned after one-match bans. Mitchel Bakker started on the bench. Kerem Demirbay was ruled out with a toe injury. In addition, the five injured players Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong, Amine Adli, Timothy Fosu-Mensah and Karim Bellarabi were unavailable.
The Werkself made great efforts from the start to gain control of the game. Clear goalscoring opportunities were few and far between in the first ten minutes. When the visitors lost possession in the Leverkusen penalty area, Bayer 04 were fast in transition thanks to Sardar Azmoun. The Iran international put Moussa Diaby through down the right flank. An exemplary cross found Paulinho unmarked and he shot from close range. Fortunately, the ball found its way over the line to give Bayer 04 the lead (18').
After opening the scoring, the Werkself showed determination on and off the ball with an impressive return of 60% of challenges won as they battled strongly. Eintracht Frankfurt made no headway up front in the first 30 minutes. The ball was in the back of the net again with ten minutes to play before half-time. The attack again came via Azmoun and Diaby and the ball ended up with Patrik Schick who tucked it away with aplomb. However, Azmoun was offside before the cross. Bayer 04 continued to up the pressure – and a well crafted counter-attack ended with Andrich missing the chance to make it 2-0. His shot from 16 yards out went just wide of the left-hand post. Two minutes later Eintracht had their first dangerous move of the match and a big chance to equalise out of the blue. Albeit the shot from Jens Hauge from the left channel went well wide of the target.
The Werkself continued to dominate proceedings after the restart. Eintracht, with coach Oliver Glasner making three changes at half-time, were left chasing shadows. The impressive Diaby again made headway up front and provided a brilliant pass to Patrik Schick in the opposition box. The Czech Republic striker tucked the ball through the legs of the Eintracht keeper Kevin Trapp (52'). The strike was initially ruled out for offside but referee Benjamin Cortus awarded the goal after consulting VAR.
Bayer 04 gave nothing away in defence. Eintracht Frankfurt, who play West Ham United in the second leg of the Europa League semi-finals on Thursday, looked to avoid any injuries and showed no sign of wanting to turn the game around. At the other end, Azmoun had a great chance to seal the victory with 20 minutes to play. However, his shot from 18 yards out landed in the arms of Trapp (71'). The Werkself upped the pressure again in the closing stages and created one goal scoring opportunity after the next. Jonathan Tah headed the ball just over the bar from a corner (75'). Bayer 04 succeeded in securing the win. The three points further consolidate Leverkusen's third place in the table.
The Werkself are back in action next Saturday on 7 May (kick-off: 15.30 CEST) with an away game at TSG Hoffenheim.
Match stats:
Bayer 04: Hradecky – Kossounou, Tah, Tapsoba, Hincapie – Aránguiz (Palacios 81’), Andrich - Diaby (Sinkgraven 88’), Azmoun (Baumgartlinger 86’), Paulinho (Bakker 81’) – Schick (Alario 86’)
Eintracht Frankfurt: Trapp - Tuta (Touré 46’), Hasebe, N’Dicka - Chandler, Jakic, Hrustic, Kostic (Knauff 46’), Ache (Sow 73’ ), Hauge (Lammers 46’) – Paciencia (Kamada 82’)
Goals: 1-0 Paulinho (18’), 2-0 Schick (51’)
Referee: Benjamin Cortus (Röthenbach a. d. Pegnitz)
Attendance: 26,492
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