Coach Peter Bosz saw little reason to change his squad after the impressive performance in the 1-1 draw against RB Leipzig and he only made one change to his starting eleven. The Colombian new signing Santiago Arias replaced Aleksandar Dragovic in the 20-man squad and he also took the place at right back of Lars Bender. Sven Bender made his 250th Bundesliga appearance at the Mercedes Benz Arena. VfB were led out by captain Gonzalo Castro with the 33-year-old having warn the Bayer 04 shirt from 1999 to 2015.
The Werkself had only lost one of their previous 17 matches against Stuttgart – with the other games producing 13 wins and three draws. However, the newcomers were in confident mood after their 4-1 win at Mainz and went in to the encounter on a high, so Leverkusen knew what to expect. The first chance for the visitors came on three minutes: From a Kerem Demirbay corner, Sven Bender laid the ball onto Charles Aránguiz but VfB keeper Gregor Kobel held onto the point-blank shot at the second attempt.
The next Leverkusen set piece proved to be a success. Demirbay played a short corner to Florian Wirtz and his precise cross saw Patrik Schick rise high to win out in an aerial challenge and head home for the lead (7’). That made it more painful when the goalscorer had to go off injured ten minutes later clutching his left thigh: Lucas Alario came on to replace Schick (19’). Shortly after that, Daley Sinkgraven had to undergo treatment on the pitch (28’) – that was the end of the game for the Dutch left back and Wendell took his place.
And Stuttgart had their first chances: From a Castro corner, Konstantinos Mavropanos rose to hit a powerful header against the bar (29’). A Castro shot shortly after that was blocked by Edmond Tapsoba (30’). Then Alario and Mavropanos clashed heads and both had to be treated so pain appeared unavoidable on this afternoon. Karim Bellarabi had the next chance for the visitors with a cross from Moussa Diaby to the near post headed high over the target (38’). After Arias won the ball from Borna Sosa, Bellarabi had another attempt on goal but his shot was turned away for a corner by Wataru Endo (45+1’). Leverkusen took the lead into half-time.
VfB came out in confident mood in the second half but the first chance fell to the Werkself. Wirtz carefully slowed down the pace and put Diaby through on the left flank but the Frenchman could not find an outlet at the end of his solo run but instead choose to fire a shot with his right foot to the near post but Korbel was able to save this attempt (48’). A good cross from Diaby saw Bellarabi put off by Sosa and he was unable to connect properly (53’).
Stuttgart clearly made more effort in attack in the second half but the better chances again clearly fell to the Werkself: Kobel tipped Alario’s header from a Bellarabi cross over the bar (61’). After some excellent work by Wirtz, the Argentinian was unable to connect when well placed in front of the goal (63’) – that could have been the winner! Bayer 04 were pressing hard for the second goal with Kobel saving a Bellarabi shot at the near post (64’). Stuttgart’s goalkeeper also managed to turn a Diaby shot round the post (71’). Then came the setback for the Werkself: Kalajdzic got onto the end of a Philipp Klement free kick with his unstoppable header beating Lukas Hradecky to make it 1-1 (75’).
Peter Bosz reacted by making three changes: Leon Bailey, Julian Baumgartlinger and Nadiem Amiri came on in place of Bellarabi, Wirtz and Demirbay (79’). The game became more disjointed and hectic in the closing stages and there was little sign of a flow of play. There were four minutes of added time. Bayer 04 pressed hard and totted up twelve corners. However, the Werkself were unable to land the knockout punch.
The Bundesliga takes a break next weekend due to international fixtures. The Werkself return to action on matchday four away to FSV Mainz 05 on Saturday, 17 October with the kick off at 15.30 CEST.
Match stats:
VfB Stuttgart: Kobel – Mavropanos (Klement 70’), Anton, Kempf – Wamangituka (Coulibaly 56’), Endo, Mangala, Sosa (Massimo 56’) – Didavi (Karazor 84’), Castro (Klimowicz 70’) – Kalajdzic
Bayer 04: Hradecky – L. Bender, S. Bender, Tapsoba, Sinkgraven (Wendell 29’) – Aránguiz – Wirtz (Baumgartlinger 79’), Demirbay (Amiri 79’) – Bellarabi (Bailey 79’), Schick (Alario 19’), Diaby
Goals: 0-1 Schick (7’), 1-1 Kalajdzic (75’)
Booked: Kempf, Massimo, Endo – Bellarabi, Aránguiz
Referee: Robert Hartmann (Wangen)
Attendance: 9,500
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