#B04WOB review: Seoane and Tah agree

summary: unsuccessful attacking efforts

After an uneventful first half where the Black and Reds had more of the game but few clear-cut chances, it was Wolfsburg who made the difference with a double whammy after the restart. The goals for the team from Lower Saxony under their new coach Florian Kohfeldt came from Lukas Nmecha (48) followed by Maximilian Arnold (51'). – And they were the only two goals of the afternoon. Bayer 04 continued to press forward but again and again ran up against the Wolfsburg defence. A symbol of the intense but unsuccessful efforts was the last incident of the match. After Wolfsburg's Maxence Lacroix committed a last-ditch foul on Lucas Alario and was shown the red card, the Argentinian stepped up to take the penalty himself – but the desired result did not come from 12 yards out with the Wolfsburg keeper Koen Casteels making the save (90+6'). The match report is HERE.

REACTION: "now pull even closer together"

"We made three or four positional errors, were not alert enough and that was exploited," was the analysis of head coach Gerardo Seoane of the phase after the restart. Following that, the Werkself "lacked penetration up front and we were not efficient enough in our finishing." The reason? "We were lacking pace, freshness and perhaps another player in the attack. Paulinho in attack could have had an effect on our game."

Central defender Jonathan Tah provided a similar assessment of the match. It was difficult to create space after conceding the goals," said the defender. "We weren't efficient enough, we needed too many chances." But it is important in this difficult phase to "now pull even closer together." Substitute Robert Andrich was particularly annoyed about the source of the two goals conceded. "The first goal was quite annoying and the second should not have happened like

Personnel: personal happiness in spite of defeat

Away from the game, Robert Andrich was able to enjoy personal happiness on Saturday in spite of the annoying defeat. The Werkself new signing became a father for the first time on Friday night with the Bayer 04 family now having an additional daughter. After the match on Saturday, the midfielder who came on as a substitute, had to go to hospital as he explained. "I'll spend the night there," said Andrich. "Away from the football it's the best thing there is." We agree and say: Congratulations, Robert.

And also: Congratulations, Gerardo Seoane. Our head coach celebrated his 43rd birthday on Saturday and is currently the fifth youngest coach in the Bundesliga. But equally: The celebratory atmosphere was somewhat dampened by the Werkself defeat. Nevertheless, we wish many happy returns, happiness and health for the coming year.

Stats: positives for Demirbay

There was no lack of commitment. That is shown by the stats for the game with a clear advantage to the Werkself in terms of possession (65.5%). Bayer 04 were also ahead of the victorious visitors with shots on goal (13 to 12) and in completed passes (83% to 69%). One positive in the Werkself game was Kerem Demirbay who had the most touches (96) and the most shots on the opposition goal (3). VfL were only ahead in terms of challenges – only just with 52% of duels won. But, in the end, Wolfsburg frequently made the crucial challenges – and went on to win the game.

what the papers say: lack of "spectacular virtues"

The Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger witnessed a match, "where the Werkself were missing their spectacular virtues," including due to "the disappointments of recent days that brought the offensive talent to a halt," the journal reported. And the Rheinische Post also explained the Werkself problems as a lack of penetration. "Bayer lacked inspiration to overcome the well organised Wolfsburg defence," was their analysis.

BILD describes the scenes between team and fans after the end of the game and comes to the conclusion: "Goalkeeper Hradecky faced the fans as captain and was able to reassure them. A win at Hertha next week would be even better reassurance."

outlook: third home game in succession

Ahead of the match in Berlin, the Werkself have their third home game in succession. On Thursday 4 November (kick-off: 21.00 CET), Real Betis visit the BayArena in the top match in Europa League Group G. The first meeting in Spain ended all square at 1-1 and now one team can set course to win the group. That is then followed by another away match on Sunday 7 November (kick-off: 15.30 CET) at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin. The hosts Hertha Berlin lost 2-0 away to TSG Hoffenheim on Friday.