0-0 at Union – run continues in Berlin

"I'm a bit disappointed and would have liked to have one here. But union did a good job and only gave us a few chances. We had very little space so was difficult to show our attacking strength on the pitch," said Florian Wirtz after the game.

Bayer 04 head coach Xabi Alonso made two changes to his starting line-up compared with 2-0 win against RB Leipzig. Edmond Tapsoba recovered from a muscular problem to replace Kerem Demirbay in the starting eleven with Florian Wirtz coming back into the side in place of Amine Adli. A surprising change from a tactical point of view: Xabi Alonso did not play Tapsoba in his usual position in central defence but instead put him in holding midfield alongside Robert Andrich. Bayer 04 had to manage without the injured Patrik Schick and Exequiel Palacios as well as the suspended Nadiem Amiri for the game at the An der Alten Försterei Stadium.

The difficulty of the game for the Werkself away to the Irons was reflected in the home record of the hosts: Union have not been beaten on their own pitch in 20 Bundesliga matches. However, Bayer 04 went into the game against the third-placed side with confidence after remaining undefeated in 13 games across competitions. Union had the first shot on goal with a long range effort from Sheraldo Becker but is effort did not cause any problems for Lukas Hradecky (5'). The striker was again centre stage in the next move but Odilon Kossounou was able to disrupt the attack in a one-on-one by blocking his shot (8'). Kossounou also succeeded in keeping out Jordan Siebatcheu (11') and shortly after that he headed just wide of the Leverkusen net (12'). The first chances fell to the hosts.

Andrich and Wirtz set up Diaby 

Shortly after that came the first good chance for the Werkself with Robert Andrich winning possession and Florian Wirtz passing to Moussa Diaby on the left of the penalty area but the shot from the Frenchman flew over the bar (17'). Bayer 04 endeavoured to control the ball and remain solid but had difficulty getting behind the opposition at pace with the best defence in the league having only conceded 31 goals. On the half-hour mark, Mitchel Bakker was involved with a good counter-attack down the left but Diaby was unable to convert the low cross from the Dutchman (32'). At the other end, Kossounou again blocked a shot from Haberer (39'). The two sides went into the half-time break with the score at 0-0.

Jeremie Frimpong had a promising chance after the restart but his effort went high over the bar (47'). And Union's Laidouni also volleyed over the goal (48'). The match remained hard-fought as in the first half with both teams primarily trying to avoid mistakes and risks. A better shot cold towards far post was well wide of the target (59'). Xabi Alonso made two changes in attack with Amine Adli replaced by Sardar Azmoun and Diaby by Adam Hlozek (62').

Werkself look to break the deadlock

A powerful effort from Robert Andrich could have presented problems for the union keeper Rönnow but a Union defender blocked his effort in the penalty area (74’). Both defences gave little away and Jonathan Tah refused to be affected by barracking from the Union fans and he again produced a brilliant performance. Leverkusen were the more positive side in the closing stages as they looked to break through the Union defence. Rönnow was in the right place to save a Bakker header from a Frimpong cross (86'). After good work from Piero Hincapie, Azmoun was prevented from shooting (88'). Soon after that came the final whistle – and both teams continued their runs: Union remain unbeaten in the Bundesliga at home after 21 games, and the Werkself extended their unbeaten run to 14 matches.

first the Derby, then off to rome

Bayer 04 are next in action in the derby on Friday 5 May on Bundesliga matchday 31 with the kick off against FC Köln at the BayArena at 20.30 CEST. On the following Thursday, 11 May, there is the first leg of the Europa League semi-final away to AS Roma kicking off at 21.00 CEST.

Match stats:

Union: Rönnow – Doekhi, Knoche, Diogo Leite – Juranovic, Khedira, Roussillon (Gießelmann 90') – Laidouni (Schäfer 69'), Haberer (Thorsby 78') – Becker, Jordan Siebatcheu (Michel 78')

Bayer 04: Hradecky – Kossounou, Tah, Hincapie – Frimpong, Andrich, Tapsoba, Bakker – Diaby (Adli 62'), Hlozek (Azmoun 62'), Wirtz

Referee: Marco Fritz (Korb)

Booked: Diogo Leite – Kossounou

Attendance: 22,012 (Sold out)