Werkself review #B04BSC: Opponents overrun

SUMMARY: GREAT MOVES LED TO GOALS

From the kick-off, it was one-way traffic in the direction of the Hertha net: And the Werkself were quickly rewarded for their uncompromising attacking zeal. The fast play down the right flank paid dividends after twelve minutes when Moussa Diaby put Jeremie Frimpong through and his cross was turned into the net by Sardar Azmoun from six yards out. The Berliners looked helpless against the attacks unleashed by the Leverkusen team, and the attack involving Odilon Kossounou, Frimpong, Diaby and Frimpong once again as the goalscorer to make it 2-0 was wonderfully executed (21'). The third strike for the dominant hosts came on the hour mark: Florian Wirtz fed a fantastic pass to Diaby and the Frenchman netted his eighth goal of the season to make the score 3-0 (60'). Hertha pulled a goal back with a penalty from Lukebakio (66') but that did not affect the outcome of the game with substitute Amine Adli restoring the three-goal lead with the help of Patrik Schick. The match report is HERE.

REACTION: 20 SEAMLESS MINUTES

The coach had little or nothing to fault his team with. "We are very happy with the game, we were on it from the start and were solid in defence. I'd always like to see our football from the first 20 minutes but that's not consistently possible," said head coach Xabi Alonso. His captain responded as follows: "We were incredibly effective in attack and we can build on that for the next important games. For me it was one of our best three performances this season," said Lukas Hradecky who made his 250th Bundesliga appearance against Hertha Berlin. And Robert Andrich was also happy: "At the moment the balance between attack and defence is right. Now it's important to be consistent."

PERSONNEL: XABI'S GREEN LIGHT FOR FRIMPONG

Hertha Berlin could not get to grips with three players in particular at the BayArena: Jeremie Frimpong, Moussa Diaby and Florian Wirtz. They stood out as a collective without any weak points and they thrilled the enthusiastic crowd with their interplay. "Jeremie and Moussa did very well in the first half and Florian is also getting better game by game," declared Xabi Alonso who also had good news at the post-match press conference about Frimpong who had to be substituted on the half-hour mark due to a knock. "It looks like he doesn't have an injury. He felt something in his muscles but nothing’s torn. I'm confident about him for Thursday," said the head coach looking forward to the Europa League tie against Ferencváros at the BayArena.

STATS: ON TOP IN ALL AREAS

The clear superiority of the Black and Reds is reflected in all the stats: 16 to 7 shots on goal went in favour of the Leverkusen team and the Werkself also came out on top in possession (62 to 38%), challenges (57 to 42%) and pass completion (87 to 77%). The dominance on the pitch is also reflected in the number of passes: The Leverkusen team had 659 (265 in the opposition half) compared with just 401 for Hertha (181 in the Leverkusen half).

WHAT THE PAPERS SAY: "WITH FLUENCY AND IN GOOD SPIRITS"

And the media also praised the impressive performance by the hosts: “Leverkusen moved the ball around the pitch as if they were playing amongst themselves with fluency and in good spirits and the Berliners must have appeared like a sparring partner whose role was purely to be present," wrote the Süddeutsche Zeitung. The Kölner Stadt Anzeiger reported a "breathtaking rhythm", the Kölnische Rundschau identified "offensive flying sparks." The Kicker assessed the Leverkusen performance "as the third convincing performance in succession" and "metamorphosis from a caterpillar into a butterfly." The Bild Zeitung declared: “Leverkusen overran and crushed Hertha."

OUTLOOK: BIG GAMES IN QUICK SUCCESSION

No time for a breather with two competitions coming up: The match against Hertha Berlin marks the start of five matches in 14 days for Bayer 04. In the first of two double fixture weeks, the next match is the first leg of the Europa League tie against Ferencváros (18.45 CET, BayArena) on Thursday 9 March. The Black and Reds are then in action in the Bundesliga away to Werder Bremen on Sunday 12 March with the kick off at 17.30 CET. The following week brings the second leg in Budapest (16 March, 21.00 CET) plus the Bundesliga big match against Bayern Munich (Sunday 19 March, 17.30 CET).