Head coach Xabi Alonso made two changes to his team that started last week’s 3-0 at home to Bayern Munich. Frimpong and Patrik Schick were restored to the side in place of Edmond Tapsoba and Nathan Tella. Africa Cup of Nations winner Odilon Kossounou was among the subs for the first time this year, while Piero Hincapie made his 100th appearance for Bayer 04.
Leverkusen had the first attempt of the game at the Voith-Arena as Wirtz tested Kevin Müller before the visitors began to dominate play. Frimpong came close not long after but narrowly missed an Alejandro Grimaldo cross from the left.
The hosts were quick to close down space but had trouble picking up Wirtz, who dribbled past three red shirts on the touchline before seeing his attempted cutback intercepted. Wirtz then played in Schick, but he was crowded out by two Heidenheim defenders as he tried to burst into the penalty area. Kleindienst had the promoted side’s first shot of the afternoon after 36 minutes. With the game looking like being goalless at the break, Frimpong then popped up at the first post two minutes into added time to turn in Adli’s cross for the lead and his seventh goal of the campaign.
The Werkself continued on the front foot after the restart. Frimpong was again busy in attack and smashed an effort just over the bar from 20 yards. It was past the hour mark when Lukas Hradecky was called into action to deny Nikola Dovedan. Frimpong then came even closer to a second but flashed his shot only inches wide of the far post on the angle. Heidenheim started to find their groove and Hradecky was again forced to save from Benedikt Gimber. Borja Iglesias came on for Schick, but once more it was Frimpong involved up front. This time the Dutchman put a Grimaldo delivery into the stands.
Wirtz than rattled the Heidenheim crossbar with a thunderous effort after a one-two with Iglesias. But the second goal did finally come on 81 minutes when Wirtz slipped through Adli, who rounded Müller to make it 2-0. It wasn’t over there, though, as Kleindienst got one back with a header three minutes before the end. However, the Werkself saw out the game to move eight points clear at the top, at least overnight, and make it 32 matches unbeaten in 2023/24.
Bayer 04 are next in action on Friday, 23 February when Mainz visit the BayArena in the Bundesliga.
Match stats:
Heidenheim: Müller – Traoré, Mainka, Gimber (Pieringer 82'), Föhrenbach – Maloney, Schöppner (Sessa 63') – Dinkci (Busch 76'), Beck (Dovedan 46'), Beste (Pick 76') – Kleindienst
Bayer 04: Hradecky – Stanisic, Tah, Hincapie – Frimpong (Tapsoba 89'), Andrich, Xhaka, Grimaldo – Adli (Tella 89'), Schick (Iglesias 74'), Wirtz (Hofmann 89')
Goals: 0-1 Frimpong (45'+2), 0-2 Adli (81'), 1-2 Kleindienst (87')
Referee: Harm Osmers (Hanover)
Yellow cards: Föhrenbach, Gimber – Andrich
Attendance: 15,000 at the Voith-Arena (sold out)
This special event showed once again how strong Bayer 04 are as a team: As part of ‘BarmeniaGothaer gives joy’, the Werkself players Edmond Tapsoba, Ibrahim Maza and Christian Kofane supported the sale of individually designed T-shirts for a good cause at the Fanwelt on Thursday. Several hundred fans came to take part in the charity campaign. Leverkusen's main sponsor BarmeniaGothaer donated the proceeds to the Fondation Edmond Tapsoba, which helps people in Tapsoba's home country of Burkina Faso in their challenging everyday lives.
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With three games to play before the end of the season, the Bayer 04 Women can break one record and equal another at SGS Essen. After three wins on the bounce, coach Roberto Pätzold's team are aiming to maintain the chance of third place in Sunday’s away game (14:00 CEST, Stadion an der Hafenstraße).
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Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personalised Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month…
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From Ouagadougou to Leverkusen – and back: in March, Bayer 04 travelled with Edmond Tapsoba for a special project in his homeland Burkina Faso. The country where his roots and heart lie. The country where he’s more than a world-class defender: a symbol of hope and a role model for an entire generation. The result is a 45-minute documentary about Tapsoba’s long journey from Africa via Portugal to Leverkusen, which offers extraordinary, one-off and emotional insights.
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Edmond Tapsoba has signed an early extension to his contract with Bayer 04 Leverkusen. With two years left on his current deal, the 27-year-old Burkina Faso international has extended his contract until 30 June 2031. The centre-back joined as a young talent from Portuguese top-flight club Vitoria Guimaraes at the start of 2020.
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