In contrast to the last friendly at Rangers (0-3), head coach Xabi Alonso opted for a 3-4-3 formation with four changes to his starting eleven: In defence, Odilon Kossounou and Piero Hincapie started in place of Daley Sinkgraven and Jonathan Tah. In midfield, Jeremie Frimpong, just back from the World Cup, plus U19 player Noah Pesch came in for Ayman Azhil and Kerem Demirbay. In addition, Florian Wirtz made his first return to the starting line-up, Amine Adli dropped down to the bench. The team also included: Niklas Lomb, Sardar Azmoun, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Daley Sinkgraven, Madi Monamay and Karim Bellarabi.
There was a quiet start to the game from both teams although the Werkself gradually worked their way forward into the FCZ half and they dominated possession. Above all, Wirtz and Diaby again and again stood out up front in the Black and Red attack. With 23 minutes on the clock, Wirtz just failed to find his French teammate with a cross. On 36 minutes, again it was the 19-year-old Wirtz who put the ball through to Diaby on the right and his low shot went just the wrong side of the far post.
The lead did come two minutes later: Diaby intercepted a misplaced pass from FC Zürich keeper Yanick Brecher and shot from the edge of the box. The ball was deflected but did end up in the back of the net – 1-0 for the Werkself (38').
Wirtz then scored just before half-time: After good build-up play from Hlozek and Frimpong, the Werkself number 27 fired a shot into the top left corner from inside the penalty area to make it 2-0. That was the score at the end of the first 45 minutes.
Xabi Alonso made four changes for the start of the second half: Niklas Lomb was between the sticks, Amine Adli, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Sardar Azmoun played up front. The latter broke down the right on 63 minutes and succeeding in converting a shot to make it 3-0. A minute later, the visitors from Switzerland pulled a goal back through Cheick Condé with an impressive shot from 25 yards out into the top corner.
Substitute Adli scored with an fine strike four minutes from time: From a long ball from Hudson-Odoi, which Bellarabi skilfully dummied, the 22-year-old lobbed the ball over the Zürich keeper into the back of the net to make it 4-1.
The Werkself now go into a well-deserved Christmas break. However, there will be not a lot of time to rest: Xabi Alonso will hold the first training session on Tuesday 3 January. The Alonso team have two friendlies in January against Venezia FC on 7 January (kick-off: 15.00 CET) plus at home to FC Copenhagen on 15 January (kick-off: 15.00 CET). The first competitive match in the New Year for the Black and Reds is on 22 January: Leverkusen are away to Borussia Mönchengladbach (kick-off: 17.30 CET) on Bundesliga matchday 16.
Match stats:
Bayer 04: Hradecky (Lomb 46') – Kossounou (Monamay 66’), Tapsoba, Hincapie – Frimpong (Sinkgraven 66’), Andrich, Sertdemir (Bellarabi 66’), Pesch (Okafor 66’) – Diaby (Adli 46'), Hlozek (Azmoun 46'), Wirtz (Hudson-Odoi 46')
FC Zürich: Brecher – Kamberi, Guerrero, Aliti, Omeragic, Hodza, Condé, Selnaes, Viunnyk, Marchesano, Krasniqi
Goals: 1-0 Diaby (38’), 2-0 Wirtz (45’), 3-0 Azmoun (63’), 3-1 Condé (64’), 4-1 Adli (86’)
Referee: Nico Fuchs (DJK Dürscheid)
Attendance: 3,000 (sell-out) at Ulrich Haberland Stadium
The last home game of the season for the Bayer 04 Women against RB Leipzig on Saturday (12:00 CEST) will be a special experience for fans. As part of the family matchday, Bayer 04 are offering fans a wide-ranging programme of events in and around the Ulrich Haberland Stadium similar to the game against Werder Bremen. This will include three special prizes for supporters to win.
Show moreWerkself-TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 2-0 win against FC Augsburg on the 31st matchday of the Bundesliga 2024/25...
Show moreBayer 04 claimed a comfortable 2-0 win against Augsburg in their penultimate home game of the 2024/25 Bundesliga season. Patrik Schick and Emiliano Buendia got the goals in the first half.
Show moreBayer 04 host Augsburg at the BayArena this Saturday for Matchday 31 of the 2024/25 Bundesliga season. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game against the 10th-placed Bavarians, including the ‘Finally Red’ fan campaign.
Show more