In comparison to the goalless draw against Panathinaikos four days ago, there were five new players in the starting eleven under head coach Gerardo Seoane. Jonathan Tah, Piero Hincapie, Robert Andrich, Charles Aránguiz and Adam Hlozek came in for Odilon Kossounou, Edmond Tapsoba, Exequiel Palacios, Kerem Demirbay and youngster Ayman Aourir. Summer signing Hlozek made his first start for the Black and Reds in the second friendly in Zell am See.
From the kick-off, it quickly developed into a fast encounter with tough challenges. In one of the many tackles, right-back Jeremie Frimpong was left on the deck and he had to receive treatment – after a short effort to carry on playing he was finally substituted on 22 minutes. Kossounou came on for the Dutchman.
Seconds later, the Werkself captain Lukas Hradecky speeded up proceedings with a long clearance upfield. The ball went straight to his opposite number Marco Silvestri but he caught it outside the penalty area. The ensuing free kick taken by Andrich from the left of the box hit the wall.
And the Werkself also had the next clear-cut chance: Patrik Schick back-heeled the ball to Moussa Diaby from the byline but he was foiled by the Udinese defender Bram Nuytinck on 32 minutes. Schick did another backheel seven minutes later this time with his own effort on goal. However, the Czech striker was unable to beat the Udinese keeper Silvestri. Substitute Kossounou tried a long-range effort just before half-time (43') but the two sides went off with the scoreline at 0-0.
Hincapie and Aránguiz finished their job at half-time with Tapsoba and Demirbay replacing them – and both were directly involved in the opener on 55 minutes: Demirbay hit a corner into the penalty area from the left where Tapsoba rose highest to head the ball into the back of the net.
Just after the hour mark, Seoane brought on seven new players including Nadiem Amiri and Paulinho. And it was the latter who doubled the lead on 76 minutes following a long ball over the Italian defence allowing him to lob the Udinese keeper Daniele Padelli.
The two-goal lead only lasted six minutes. From a long ball, Bayer 04 youngster Madi Monamay was involved in a foot race with Udinese's Festy Ebosele on the left side of defence. The 16-year-old brought down his opponent and the referee pointed to the spot – a mistake as the TV pictures later showed. The initial contact was outside the area. Nevertheless, Udinese's Roberto Pereyra converted from twelve yards out to make it 2-1 (82'). Not much else happened after that and the Werkself ended the final pre-season friendly with a win.
The final friendly in the pre-season has been played and now it's down to competitive action for the Werkself: On Saturday 30 July (kick-off: 15.30 CEST) the Seoane team are away to third division SV 07 Elversberg in the first round of the DFB Cup. A week later comes the opening fixture in the new Bundesliga season with the big match at Borussia Dortmund. The kick-off at the Signal Iduna Park is at 18.30 CEST.
Match stats:
Bayer 04: Hradecky – Frimpong (Kossounou 22’), Tah (Monamay 63’), Hincapie (Tapsoba 46’), Bakker (Azhil 63’) – Andrich (Amiri 63’), Aránguiz (Demirbay 46’) – Diaby (Aourir 63’), Azmoun (Bravo 63’), Hlozek (Paulinho 63’) – Schick (Pohjanpalo 63’)
Udinese starting line-up: Silvestri – Soppy, Becao (Bijol 37'), Nuytinck, Masina, Udogie – Jajalo, Makengo – Pereyra – Success, Nestorovski
Goals: 1-0 Tapsoba (55’), 2-0 Paulinho (76’), 2-1 Pereyra (82’)
Booked: Andrich – Silvestri, Nestorovski, Soppy
Referee: Samuel Sampl
Attendance: 600 at the Alois Latini Stadium (Zell am See)
With seven points, Mainz 05 are currently joint seventh, level on points with sixth-placed Bayer 04. In today’s head-to-head clash (kick-off: 15:30 CEST), the Werkself must be particularly wary of the clinical Mainz strike duo. For Leverkusen fans who have left it to the last minute, there are still a few tickets available from the matchday ticket office. Those following the Black and Reds from home, on the other hand, have a choice: RTL is broadcasting the match on free-to-air TV, and Werkself Radio is also offering the expert commentary of former Bayer 04 player Falko Götz. Today’s matchday news.
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