Head coach Xabi Alonso made six changes to his starting XI compared with the 1-0 home win against Mainz 05 in the week and that included the return of the keeper Lukas Hradecky and key defender Jonathan Tah. Martin Terrier also started but, shortly after providing an impressive cross to Patrik Schick on five minutes, the Frenchman had to be substituted due to injury (8'). He was replaced by Piero Hincapie.
The visitors from the Lower Rhine were well organised in defence and made it difficult for the Werkself to break into their penalty area. Robert Andrich tried a long-range effort on 20 minutes and Schick a header from a cross five minutes later. It was just after the half-hour mark that Arthur won the ball and Granit Xhaka played a through ball for Florian Wirtz to leave Ko Itakura standing before slotting the ball into the bottom right-hand corner of the net to open the scoring (32'). 1-0 was the score at half-time.
The first chance after the restart fell to Alejandro Grimaldo in a counter-attack but the BMG keeper Moritz Nicolas was able to make the save (55'). Five minutes later, Grimaldo tried to cross but the ball hit the hand of Julian Weigl in the penalty area and referee Harm Osmers pointed to the spot. Wirtz calmly converted the penalty to seal his brace and make it 2-0 (62’). The Werkself then eased off somewhat and focused on isolated attacks – as on 75 minutes. Hincapie played a great long ball to Wirtz. The latter flicked the ball on to Schick leaving the Czech with a tap-in to make it 3-0 with his twelfth goal of the season. In the closing stages, Jonas Hofmann came off the bench to make his first appearance in the new year and Tim Kleindienst netted a consolation goal for the visitors at 3-1 (90+1'). The final whistle came shortly after that and the Werkself celebrated an eleventh win in succession with their fans.
Bayer 04 are next in action in the Champions League. The Werkself are away to top Spanish side Atletico Madrid on Matchday 7 in the league phase. The match on Tuesday, 21 January, kicks off at 21.00 CET. That is followed by another top game on the road four days later, this time in the Bundesliga, away to RB Leipzig.
Match stats:
Bayer 04: Hradecky - Arthur, Tah, Tapsoba - Tella (Frimpong 63'), Xhaka (Palacios 81'), Andrich, Grimaldo (Garcia 81') - Wirtz (Hofmann 81'), Terrier (Hincapie 8’) - Schick
Borussia Mönchengladbach: Nicolas - Lainer, Itakura, Elvedi, Ullrich (Netz 75') - Reitz (Chiarodia 81’), Weigl, Sander (Fukuda 87’) - Cvancara (Plea 75'), Kleindienst, Hack (Stöger 75')
Goals: 1-0 Wirtz (32’), 2-0 Wirtz (62’ pen.), 3-0 Schick (74’), 3-1 Kleindienst (90+1’)
Yellow cards: Cvancara, Lainer
Referee: Harm Osmers (Hannover)
Attendance: 30,210 (sold out) at the BayArena
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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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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A special surprise: during the preview for the 'Fierté Burkinabè' documentary about Edmond Tapsoba, Bayer 04 directors Fernando Carro and Simon Rolfes announced Tapsoba's contract extension until 2031 together with the centre-back. He then spoke to Werkself-TV about his time in Leverkusen so far and future ambitions...
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This evening was deeply moving: At a really special setting, Bayer 04 exclusively presented the specially produced documentary ‘Fierté Burkinabè’ ("Burkinabe Pride") about Edmond Tapsoba on Tuesday. For the preview at the BayArena, the parents of the Werkself player and other close companions travelled all the way from his African homeland Burkina Faso. The 45-minute film shows Tapsoba's extraordinary career from his beginnings in Ouagadougou to Leverkusen as well as the work of his foundation "Fondation Edmond Tapsoba", with representatives from Burkina Faso also present. Fans can watch the documentary free of charge on Werkself TV and YouTube from Wednesday night at 20:00 CEST.
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