Head coach Xabi Alonso made four changes to his team that started Sunday’s 3-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt. Josip Stanisic and Piero Hincapie replaced Odilon Kossounou and Edmond Tapsoba in defence. Robert Andrich was in for the suspended Exequiel Palacios in midfield, while Schick made his first Bundesliga start in some 14 months as he got the nod over Boniface, who dropped to the bench. In a once again sold-out BayArena, Jeremie Frimpong led the first attack of note in the seventh minute, but his low delivery was gathered by goalkeeper Manuel Riemann. The visitors then had a couple of opportunities of their own through Takuma Asano and Christopher Antwi-Adjei.
The Werkself then struggled to play in their usual dominant manner for a period as Bochum pressed hard. However, Leverkusen finally found a gap in the visitors’ rearguard just before the half-hour mark as Schick was played in behind, knocked the ball beyond Riemann before being taken down. Referee Daniel Schlager pointed to the spot, with Schick himself dispatching the penalty for the lead. The next attack moments later also came off as Jonas Hofmann and Frimpong worked their way down the right. The Dutchman passed the ball into the middle and into the path of Schick, whose first-time finish doubled the advantage with 31 minutes gone. Alonso’s men seemed to find their groove now, with Frimpong and Alejandro Grimaldo both having further chances. Yet it was Schick who struck again in added time, heading in a Grimaldo corner under pressure to bag his hat-trick inside the first half.
With the Werkself three goals to the good coming out after the break, things were initially quiet until the 62nd minute when Grimaldo played the ball back from the by-line for Andrich to turn in. However, a VAR review ruled out the goal due to offside in the build-up. A fourth did come soon after, though, as Florian Wirtz’s vision found Boniface, who had only been on the field for a couple of minutes, to put away his 10th goal of the season with 69 minutes gone. Leverkusen didn’t look done there as Tapsoba and Frimpong looked to add another, but Riemann denied both. The damage was already done, however, as Bayer 04 extended their unbeaten start to 2023/24 to a German record 25 games and go into the winter break with a four-point advantage over Bayern Munich.
And straight after the game, the team joined the fans inside the BayArena for some Christmas singing to round off an eventful year in Leverkusen.
The Werkself are now off on their well-deserved holidays before returning to training on Wednesday, 3 January. The first match of the year is then the following Sunday with a friendly against Italian Serie B side Venezia at the BayArena. Tickets are available for the game HERE.
Match stats:
Bayer 04: Hradecky – Stanisic, Tah (Tapsoba 67'), Hincapie (Puerta 73') – Frimpong, Xhaka, Andrich, Grimaldo – Hofmann (Hlozek 73'), Schick (Boniface 67'), Wirtz (Amiri 87')
Bochum: Riemann – Gamboa, Masovic (Loosli 69'), Schlotterbeck, Bernardo – Losilla (Oermann 87'), Osterhage, Bero – Asano (Soares 46'), Paciencia (Förster 63'), Antwi-Adjei (Broschinski 63')
Goals: 1-0 Schick (pen, 30'), 2-0 Schick (31'), 3-0 Schick (45'+1), 4-0 Boniface (69')
Referee: Daniel Schlager (Hügelsheim)
Yellow cards: Masovic, Schlotterbeck
Attendance: 30,210 (sold out) at the BayArena
The European jersey has been launched, the UEL opponents have been drawn – and anticipation for the European campaign is running high. To mark the occasion, an autograph session was held on Friday afternoon, 28 August, at the Fanwelt with current Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and official club legend Paulo Sergio.
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After six and a half years, Exequiel Palacios is leaving the Bundesliga and moving from Bayer 04 to the Premier League. The Argentine, who as a Werkself player won the World Cup with his national team four years ago and finished as runners-up at this summer’s tournament, will play for newly promoted English side Ipswich Town with immediate effect. The 27-year-old, whose contract in Leverkusen was due to run until 30 June 2030, joined Bayer 04 in January 2020 as a promising young talent. He steadily developed into one of the best defensive midfielders in the German top flight.
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When Exequiel Palacios moved from the Argentinian club River Plate to Bayer Leverkusen on 1 January 2020, the then 21-year-old could not have imagined just how successful the next six and a half years would be for him. Pala, as he is known, had already won the Copa Libertadores – the most prestigious competition in South American club football – with River Plate. But there were still so many more trophies to come.
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To mark Exequiel Palacios’s departure, we’ve put together a compilation of the midfielder’s finest and most important goals from his six-and-a-half years at the club.
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