Ten Hag made one change to his team from the side that started the DFB Pokal first-round win at Sonnenhof Großaspach, with Alejandro Grimaldo coming in for Amine Adli, who had left the club during the week.
Leverkusen suffered an early scare when Lemperle hit the post inside two minutes, but the hosts responded promptly and in more devastating fashion as Grimaldo’s curling free-kick into the box was met by Quansah to head home his first goal in black and red.
The Werkself were disciplined following the goal and allowed Hoffenheim to have the ball at times. They posed little threat until the 25th minute when working their way into the box down the left and teeing up Asllani, who fired over the previously untested Mark Flekken to equalise. That sparked Leverkusen back into life. Again it was a Grimaldo free-kick that caused danger in the TSG area, this time with their own defender Koki Machida forcing goalkeeper Olive Baumann into a sharp stop.
After a lull in proceedings, things ramped up again prior to the break. Flekken twice had to intervene against Hoffenheim’s Bazoumana Touré, while an Aleix Garcia free-kick towards the far post found Piero Hincapie, who again forced Baumann into action.
After a calm resumption to the second half, the ball soon landed at the feet of Lemperle, who fired home from the edge of the area to put the visitors in front. It sparked a response from Bayer 04, but they struggled to create much of a threat as long-range efforts from Grimaldo and Garcia brought no joy.
The lively Grimaldo popped up down the left again in the 78th minute and teed up Nathan Tella at the far post, only for him to hit the side netting. Claudio Echeverri and Christian Kofane were handed their Bundesliga debuts late on, joining half-time substitute Ernest Poku, but they were unable to encourage a late leveller.
Leverkusen go to Werder Bremen at the same time next Saturday for their second Bundesliga outing. There’s then the international break before returning with a home game against Eintracht Frankfurt on Friday, 12 September.
Match stats:
Leverkusen: Flekken - Quansah, Tapsoba, Hincapie - Arthur (Poku 46'), Garcia, Andrich, Grimaldo - Maza (Echeverri 85'), Tella (Kofane 85') - Schick
Hoffenheim: Baumann – Coufal (Prömel 88'), Hranac (Akpoguma 75'), Machida (Chaves 45'), Bernardo – Avdullahu, Burger (Tohumcu 46') – Kramaric, Touré – Lemperle (Prass 75'), Asllani
Goals: 1-0 Quansah (6'), 1-1 Asllani (25'), 1-2 Lemperle (52')
Yellow cards: Kramaric, Machida, Avdullahu
Referee: Daniel Siebert
Attendance: 29,390 (home area sold out) at the BayArena
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