4-1 against Heidenheim – fourth league win for the Werkself

Head coach Xabi Alonso made four changes from the line-up in last Thursday's 4-0 win against BK Häcken in the UEFA Europa League: Matej Kovar, Josip Stanisic, Nathan Tella and Amine Adli made way for Lukas Hradecky, Odilon Kossounou, Jeremie Frimpong and Jonas Hofmann. In addition, Alonso changed from a 4-2-3-1 to a 3-4-3 formation.

Boniface scores early on

The Werkself dominated the game from the kick-off. Victor Boniface had the first goalscoring opportunity for the Black and Reds on five minutes but his shot was deflected wide of the target. But the Nigeria international went one better a few minutes later: An accurate through ball from Exequiel Palacios saw Boniface turn on a Heidenheim defender before slotting this shot into the back of the visitors net (9'). That was the fifth Bundesliga goal for the striker. The Werkself continued to play on the front foot and pressed for the second goal. There were chances for Frimpong (25'), Hofmann (30'), Florian Wirtz (39’) and Boniface (45') amongst others but the next goal did not come as none of the efforts found their way into the Heidenheim net. Bayer 04 went into half-time with a comfortable 1-0 lead.

The Black and Reds again took control of proceedings in the second half while the visitors waited for chances on the break. It quickly appeared to be a repeat of the first half: Leverkusen had numerous shots on goal but rarely looked like fully exploiting the opportunities created. Wirtz was unmarked in the box on 57 minutes but he hit his shot straight at the keeper. Boniface then put a powerful shot over the bar a few seconds later. The failure to add to the lead resulted in the visitors drawing level at 1-1 with a goal from Erin Dinkci before the hour mark (58').

perfect response from the black and reds

The Werkself remained undaunted by the equaliser. Five minutes later, Palacios produced another outstanding through ball from 40 metres out to find Hofmann running into the penalty area. The Germany international kept his cool and slotted the ball into the bottom left corner of the net to make it 2-1 (63'). That was the second assist of the game for Palacios. Ten minutes later, Alejandro Grimaldo fell to the ground in a clash with Heidenheim's Lennard Maloney in the visitors penalty area. The referee awarded a penalty and Boniface stepped up to make it 3-1 to secure another brace and his sixth goal in the Bundesliga (75’). Substitute Amine Adli rounded off the scoring eight minutes later with a wonderful lob over the FCH keeper Kevin Müller for the final scoreline of 4-1 (83').

outlook: Away to Mainz

The Werkself now have a normal week of training before the next game on Saturday 30 September against Mainz 05 on Bundesliga matchday six. The away game at the MEWA Arena kicks off at 15.30 CEST.

Match stats:

Bayer 04: Hradecky – Kossounou, Tah, Tapsoba – Frimpong (Tella 79'), Palacios (Andrich 71'), Xhaka, Grimaldo (Hincapie 85') – Hofmann, Wirtz (Adli 71'), Boniface (Hlozek 85')

Heidenheim: Müller - Traoré, Mainka, Siersleben, Föhrenbach - Maloney, Theuerkauf (Pick 70') - Dinkci (Sessa 82'), Beste (Thomalla 82') - Dovedan, Kleindienst (Pieringer 83’)

Goals: 1-0 Boniface (9’), 1-1 Dinkci (59’), 2-1 Hofmann (63’), 3-1 Boniface (75’ pen.), 4-1 Adli (83’)

Booked: Palacios - Theuerkauf

Referee: Christian Dingert (Lebecksmühle)

Attendance: 29,557 at the BayArena