Head coach Xabi Alonso made six changes from his starting line-up in the 2-0 defeat in Leipzig for the game against Club Brugge: Odilon Kossounou came in on the right side of defence for the suspended Piero Hincapie, Mitchel Bakker and Jeremie Frimpong replaced Timothy Fosu-Mensah and Daley Sinkgraven on the flanks. Exequiel Palacios started in place of Nadiem Amiri in holding midfield alongside Robert Andrich. Xabi Alonso opted to play Patrik Schick and Callum Hudson-Odoi up front with Adam Hlozek and Amine Adli dropping to the bench. Alonso stuck with his tried and tested 3-4-3 formation.
Lukas Hradecky and Co. needed to get a result to – with the help of Porto – finish above Atletico Madrid in third place and thereby progress to the Europa League. The Werkself started that mission with commitment. Andrich led the first attack in the opening minutes but an opposition defender was able to block the shot. Shortly after that, Frimpong just failed to connect with a cross from Hudson-Odoi. The visitors from Belgium mounted their first attack on ten minutes but failed to threaten the Werkself goal. The game settled down with neither side wanting to take any unnecessary risks.
The first clear-cut opportunity came after the half-hour mark for the hosts: Hudson-Odoi put Moussa Diaby through on the right but the visitors keeper Simon Mignolet was able to save a shot from a tight angle. It was end-to-end action after that: First, skipper Hradecky saved a dangerous effort from Club Brugge's Kamal Sowah and an immediate counter-attack saw Schick just fail to connect with a cross from Diaby (39'). In the first minute of added time, Frimpong had another shot but the Dutchman only hit the side netting. The half-time score at Leverkusen was 0-0 while Porto were 2-0 up at the break against Atlético Madrid.
There was one change for the Black and Reds the start of the second half with Kerem Demirbay coming on for Palacios. The opening minutes of the second 45 were intense with chances at both ends: Club Brugge's Casper Nielsen hit the bar and a follow-up shot from Eduard Sobol went wide of the Leverkusen net (46'). Hudson-Odoi then tried his luck for the Werkself but Mignolet was able to keep out his low shot to the bottom left corner (48). A corner from Demirbay on 54 minutes found Schick but the Belgian keeper was able to keep out the header from the Czech Republic player.
Both sides found it hard going in attack. Xabi Alonso reacted on 75 minutes by bringing on two new players: Amiri and Adli replaced Hudson-Odoi and Diaby. The visitors also made substitutions as the game progressed. The final stages of the match required full focus to ensure a clean sheets. As Porto were still 2-0 up on Atlético, the goalless draw was enough for the Werkself at that moment. In the final minutes of the match, Hradecky intercepted another cross from the visitors and Adli threatened the Belgian goal for the Black and Reds. Then came the final whistle – and the full house at the BayArena celebrated the deserved point and going through to the UEFA Europa League. Atlético Madrid did score late-on but the game ended with a 2-1 win for the Portuguese side. Porto finish top of the group ahead of Cub Brugge. Bayer 04 end the group stage in third place with Atlético Madrid fourth.
The Werkself are at home to league leaders Union Berlin on Sunday 6 November on Bundesliga matchday 13. The kick-off at the BayArena is at 15.30 CET. The Black and Reds are away to FC Köln three days later in the derby with the kick-off at 18.30 CET. In the final competitive match of the year, the Alonso team entertain VfB Stuttgart on Bundesliga matchday 15. That game at the BayArena is on Saturday 12 November with the kick off at 15.30 CET.
Match stats:
Bayer 04: Hradecky - Kossounou, Tah, Tapsoba - Frimpong, Palacios (Demirbay 46'), Andrich, Bakker - Diaby (Adli 75'), Schick (Hlozek 89'), Hudson-Odoi (Amiri 75')
Club Brugge: Mignolet - Boyata, Mechele, Meijer - Buchanan, Vanaken, Sowah, Sobol (Larin 79') - Nielsen, Jutgla (Yaremchuk 87'), Lang (Skov Olsen 67')
Booked: Palacios, Andrich - Sobol, Boyata, Nielsen
Referee: Maurizio Mariani (Italy)
Attendance: 30,210 (sell-out) at the BayArena
There won’t just be plenty of excitement on the pitch as Bayer 04 host Borussia Dortmund at the BayArena at 18:30 CET on Saturday. Outside the stadium there will be collection points for food donations to the Leverkusen Foodbank, which will also benefit from the profits of a jersey raffle in the Fanwelt afterwards. There will also be a minute’s silence before kick-off following the passing of long-time Werkself player Dieter Herzog, before two fan clubs are honoured for their decades-long support at half-time and fans receive a talk about Orange Day, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game in our matchday news.
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Bayer 04 go into the first of two successive clashes with Borussia Dortmund boosted by their Champions League win at Manchester City. Ahead of the Bundesliga top match on Saturday, 29 November (kick-off: 18:30 CET), coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about the tight schedule, BVB's strengths and returning squad members.
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Borussia Dortmund are doing very well in terms of points and results in the Bundesliga, the DFB Pokal and the UEFA Champions League. BVB have only suffered two defeats to date this term. Now coach Niko Kovac's team are away to the Werkself on Saturday night, 29 November (kick-off: 18:30 CET) in the top match on Bundesliga matchday 12. The two teams meet again three days later in the DFB Pokal Round of 16 tie in Dortmund. Two very competitive encounters are on the cards. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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