Head coach Kasper Hjulmand made three changes to the starting XI from the 4-1 defeat to VfB Stuttgart. Loïc Badé was preferred to Jeanuel Belocian in defence, while Ernest Poku and Patrik Schick were recalled to the attack in place of Nathan Tella and Martin Terrier.
The early stages in the Kraichgau were lacking in chances, with both sides defending diligently. It was TSG who showed ruthless efficiency to take the lead, when Wouter Burger curled a delightful free kick from the right side into the corner (9'). Mark Flekken, who was powerless to prevent the goal, showed all his class shortly after when he twice saved from Fisnik Asllani (12', 15'). Leverkusen grew into the game after that and had their first chance through Malik Tillman (24'), but on the whole there weren't many openings for the Werkself in the first half and TSG took the narrow lead into the break.
Hjulmand introduced Africa Cup returnees Ibrahim Maza and Christian Kofane for Ezequiel Fernández and Arthur at the start of the second period, and the tempo of the game immediately picked up. The Werkself were well in it but then had to change goalkeeper after around an hour, with Flekken injuring himself while making a save. Janis Blaswich came on for his competitive debut for Bayer 04 - and witnessed Leverkusen's best chance shortly after. Once again Alejandro Grimaldo let rip with a free kick, which Hoffenheim goalkeeper Oliver Baumann was just about able to parry, with Schick then firing over on the rebound (68').
Ten minutes later, Blaswich also got to show what he can do from Tim Lemperle's effort. After another injury blow - Tella was forced off shortly after his introduction - Bayer 04 launched a late surge. But after Schick's next attempt was blocked and Tella's replacement Jonas Hofmann sent a long-range shot over the target in added time, it ended in a 1-0 defeat on the road for the Werkself.
Bayer 04 are back in action already on Tuesday 20 January, when they visit Greek champions Olympiacos on Matchday 7 of the UEFA Champions League. Kick-off is at 21:00 CET. Werkself fans can then look forward to another home fixture, with SV Werder Bremen visiting the BayArena on Saturday 24 January (kick-off 15:30 CET) as part of Bundesliga Matchday 19.
Match stats:
TSG Hoffenheim: Baumann - Coufal, Hranac, Hajdari, Bernardo - Avdullahu, Burger, Prass (Gendrey 79'), Kramaric (Moerstedt 79') - Lemperle (Bebou 90'), Asllani (Prömel 69')
Bayer 04: Flekken (Blaswich 59') - Andrich, Badé, Quansah - Arthur (Kofane 46'), Fernández (Maza 46'), Garcia, Grimaldo - Tillman, Poku (Tella 74', Hofmann 81') - Schick
Goals: 1-0 Burger (9')
Yellow cards: Burger, Hranac / Quansah
Referee: Daniel Schlager (Gernsbach)
Attendance: 26,957 at the PreZero Arena
Just in time for the start of the school year, everyone was hard at work again at NaturGut Ophoven. For the 21st time, Bayer 04 have supported the annual ‘BioBrotbox’ campaign, which puts together a healthy breakfast for first-year primary school pupils in Leverkusen – and not only contributed 1,904 muesli bars but also plenty of enthusiasm too: Together with the U19 players Burak Kir and Clinton Wilson, Emily Wallrabenstein and Paulina Platner from the Women’s Bundesliga team helped with the packing. The latter was clearly delighted “that Bayer 04 are helping out with regional projects like this and showing their commitment to the local community”.
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A group of about 50 members of the Bayer 04 Football Academy São Paulo visited Leverkusen over the past few days, accompanied by Bayer 04 club legend Paulo Sergio and Luiz Felipe (managing director of academy in São Paulo) for a week full of football, encounters and very special insights. In addition to the Bundesliga away game in Elversberg and the home game against Union Berlin, the visit also featured a joint training session with the Bayer 04 Football Academy in Leverkusen and a tour of the Bayer AG facilities. The guests also gained special insights into the club and the world of Bayer 04.
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“Diaby! Diaby! Diaby!” was the cry around the BayArena as the Werkself danced in front of the north stand following their 4-0 win over Union Berlin. Captain Edmond Tapsoba gave his new (and old) teammate a friendly shove forward to take in the acclaim from the fans. The returning Frenchman was typically reserved in thanking the supporters but was clearly emotional about what was happening.
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