Werkself off to winning start in 2023

The Werkself win the third of four friendlies in the winter break against Venezia with a 2-1 scoreline. The goals in the first half were scored by Florian Wirtz (37') and Amine Adli one minute before half-time with an assist from Adam Hlozek. The team under head coach Xabi Alonso remained on top at the start of the second half but the visitors came back into the game and scored a consolation goal on 68 minutes when Andrija Novakovich latched onto a loose ball in the Leverkusen penalty area.

double whAMMY FROM wirtz and Adli

The Werkself were focused in the first friendly of the New Year and controlled the game but were unable to create any clear-cut chances in the first 20 minutes against a deep lying Venezia defence. After initial opportunities for Amiri from distance (25) plus Adli from a Frimpong cross (33), Wirtz broke the deadlock on 37 minutes beating three opponents in one-on-ones before hitting a low shot into the bottom right corner to give Bayer 04 a 1-0 lead.

Werkself start well, Venezia net consolation

Alonso made seven changes at half-time: Jonathan Tah, Robert Andrich, Kerem Demirbay, Karim Bellarabi, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Moussa Diaby and Sardar Azmoun came on. Andrey Lunev remained in goal behind the two defenders Edmond Tapsoba and Piero Hincapie plus Mitchel Bakker. 67 minutes saw the introduction of the youngest players in the squad: Madi Monamay, Ayman Azhil and Zidan Sertdemir.

Although the Black and Reds continued to have the upper hand in the second half, it was the visitors on 68 minutes who scored the next goal: After Demirbay lost the ball in his own penalty area, Venezia's Magnus Andersen gained possession and teammate Andrija Novakovich exploited the situation as he hit a shot towards goal. Lunev got a hand to the ball but was unable to keep it out – the team under Paolo Vanoli made it 2-1.

Bayer 04 looked dangerous on the right flank in the closing stages particularly through Bellarabi and Diaby. The visitors also applied pressure but there were no more goals. The match ended in a 2-1 win for the Werkself.

final friendly against FC Copenhagen

The Alonso team have one final friendly next weekend ahead of the restart of the Bundesliga campaign. The Danish champions FC Copenhagen visit the BayArena on Sunday 15 January. The kick-off is at 13.00 CET. The league fixtures resume a week later. Leverkusen are away to Borussia Mönchengladbach on matchday 16 on Sunday 22 January with a 17.30 CET kick off at Borussia Park.

Match stats:

Bayer 04: Lunev – Kossounou (Tah 46’), Tapsoba (Azhil 67’), Hincapie (Monamay 67’)– Frimpong (Diaby 46’), Amiri (Demirbay 46’), Palacios (Andrich 46’), Bakker (Sertdemir 67’) – Wirtz (Bellarabi 46’) – Adli (Hudson-Odoi 46’), Hlozek (Azmoun 46’)

Venezia FC: Joronen – Wisniewski, Ridgeciano, Busio, Tessmann, Cuisance, Pohjanpalo, Ceppitelli, Pierini, Candela, Ceccaroni

Goals: 1-0 Wirtz (37’), 2-0 Adli (44’), 2-1 Novakovich (68’)

Referee: Mitja Stegemann (SV Niederkassel)

Attendance: 1,400 at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium