Head coach Peter Bosz made six changes to the side that lost 4-1 at home to VfL Wolfsburg. Mitchell Weiser, Edmond Tapsoba, Wendell, Kerem Demirbay, Karim Bellarabi and Moussa Diaby dropped down to the bench. They were replaced at Freiburg by Jonathan Tah, with his first appearance since the restart, Aleksandar Dragovic, Daley Sinkgraven, Florian Wirtz, Leon Bailey and Julian Baumgartlinger. The last named wore the captain's armband tonight.
The hosts had the first chance on goal of the evening. Vincenzo Grifo tried his luck from long range but his effort was turned away for a corner (5'). Otherwise, the first half hour was marked by a tactical sounding out by both sides. There were no goalscoring opportunities early on, the Werkself dominated possession that reached a rate of 80 per cent. Freiburg – Streich made four changes from the line-up in the 3-3 draw at Eintracht Frankfurt – played with their usual hard-working approach and shut down space denying the Black and Reds the chance to develop attacks and create openings. The best chance of the first half fell to Freiburg's Lucas Höler just before half-time. Roland Sallai put the striker through at the right moment and he raced clear from the Leverkusen back three but his effort from the left of the Werkself goal went just inches wide of the far post (43'). A minute later, Sven Bender headed just over from a Nadiem Amiri free kick. That was the last dangerous move in the first half and Bayer 04 went into the break with the score at 0-0 for the first time in this calendar year.
There were no changes on either side at the half-time break and – as the hygiene protocol dictates – they came back onto the pitch in turn. The Werkself approach remained unchanged: possession of the ball and control of the game. An Amiri corner from the left on 53 minutes found the head of Charles Aránguiz but he was unable to steer the ball towards the goal.
Then came the lead for the Werkself – and that with the first chance of the game for the Black and Reds. After a short period of pressure from the visitors, Bailey broke through on the left at the right moment to set up Havertz who cleverly slipped the ball through the legs of the Freiburg keeper Alexander Schwolow to make it 1-0 (54'). A minute later, Wirtz had the chance to score his first Bundesliga goal: A powerful effort from the 17-year-old went just wide of the target. The ball was in the Freiburg net for the second time on 63 minutes but Baumgartlinger's header was ruled out for a push by the would-be goalscorer on Dominic Heintz.
After an overzealous challenge on the touchline, Havertz – from today the first U21 player in the history of the Bundesliga to score 35 goals – was left on the deck and had to be treated. The 20-year-old did come back on briefly. But head coach Bosz took no chances as he brought on Diaby in place of the goalscorer (66'). There was danger in the Werkself defence shortly after that. Freiburg substitute Jonathan Schmid fired in a shot from the right that flew just wide of the left upright (68').
The closing stages at the Schwarzwald Stadium witnessed a flurry of substitutions with the two coaches making a total of nine changes. With a few minutes to play, Freiburg striker Nils Peterson had a good chance: However, Petersen was unable to apply enough power to the pass from Christian Günter. Bayer 04 keeper Lukas Hradecky was able to make a comfortable save and turn the ball away for a corner (88'). That was the last chance of the game and referee Marco Fritz blew for full-time four minutes after the 90. The Werkself secured three valuable points in the race for a Champions League position.
Bayer 04 are next in action on Saturday, 6 June (kick-off: 15.30 CET) at the BayArena – also behind closed doors. League leaders Bayern Munich are the visitors to Leverkusen in the top match.
Match stats:
SC Freiburg: Schwolow – Kübler (Gulde 66'), Lienhart, Heintz, Günter – Sallai (Schmid 66'), Koch (Frantz 75'), Höfler, Grifo (Kwon 75') – Höler (Waldschmidt 75'), Petersen
Bayer 04: Hradecky – Tah, S. Bender, Dragovic – Amiri, Aránguiz, Baumgartlinger, Sinkgraven (Alario 61') – Wirtz (Tapsoba 84'), Havertz ( Diaby 66'), Bailey (Paulinho 84')
Goals: 0-1 Havertz (54’)
Referee: Marco Fritz (Korb)
Booked: Alario, Amiri
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He knows the dressing room, the pitch and the club. But, above all, he knows the feeling of playing for the Werkself at the BayArena: Moussa Diaby is back in Leverkusen after three years. The lightning-fast winger has signed a contract with Bayer 04 until 2031 and he will once again wear the number 19 jersey. The left-footed player previously played for the club from 2019 to 2023, having arrived in the Rhineland from his native France as a promising young talent and eventually leaving the club – having established himself as one of the Bundesliga’s best attackers – to join Aston Villa in the Premier League. Now he has returned to Bayer 04 from Al-Ittihad FC in Saudi Arabia.
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