Werkself review #B04M05: ‘We lacked rhythm and intensity on the ball’

Summary: Turned up the heat in the second half and equalised late on

In front of the 30,210 fans at the sold-out BayArena, including DFL managing director Marc Lenz, Jonas Hofmann had the first shot on goal after four minutes. The game then remained largely uneventful in the first half, with no further goalscoring opportunities, and the first 45 minutes were regrettably brought to a close by the injury-related substitution of Arthur. After the break, Leverkusen stepped up the intensity, partly thanks to the impetus provided by substitutes Ibrahim Maza and Martin Terrier. However, the visitors scored the first goal of the game through Sheraldo Becker following a well-constructed counter-attack (67'). Immediately before this Mainz counter-attack, two Leverkusen players had been brought down in the penalty area on the opposite side of the pitch. Kasper Hjulmand spoke about a "clear penalty. I've just seen it again." The Werkself were not put off by this incident, continued to work - and were finally rewarded late on in the 88th minute when Jarell Quansah netted the equaliser at 1-1. Bayer 04 pressed for the win into added time but were unable to find the back of the net again.

• Match report
• Match highlights

Reaction: "Winning games is what it's all about at the end of the season"

"We didn't have enough energy, not enough intensity," goalscorer Jarell Quansah said post-match but he added: "It's not the end of the world now, we have to keep that in mind. There are still many games and important months to come. We want to qualify for the Champions League, of course. And to do that, we have to win games, that's what it's all about at the end of the season." Goalkeeper Janis Blaswich said: "We didn’t do enough, no question about it. We only showed what we're made of in the last ten or 15 minutes. We have to build on that in the next game."​

Coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke of a "difficult game" at the post-match press conference. Of course, we're not happy with our performance. We lacked rhythm and intensity on the ball, we didn't create enough chances. We had more energy in the last 30 minutes and the equaliser was deserved in the end. Overall, however, we simply haven’t done enough offensively in the last two or three games."

• Post-match rection
• Post-match press conference

What the papers say: "Bayer only rescued a point with great effort"

After the game, kicker talked about the ‘striker' Quansah. And added: "Bayer Leverkusen only just managed to salvage a point against Mainz 05 in a 1-1 draw. The defensively strong Rheinhessen side conceded hardly any chances." The Rheinische Post saw a "lacklustre performance" with the Werkself "failing to put pressure on the top places in the table with a win." The Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger rated the first half as "uneventful" and goalscorer Jarell Quansah as man of the match for Leverkusen. The comment: "A solid performance from the England international. Good positional play, often available up front, with hardly any mistakes in defence. Also confident under pressure."

Personnel: Quansah as a clinical finisher

In the end, Jarell Quansah barely held anything back. The defender moved wide in the closing stages. Originally intended primarily to use his heading power, he finally shone as a clinical left-footed finisher. It was his third Bundesliga goal of the season - and his second in succession following the 4-0 win against FC St. Pauli (Quansah did not play against Union Berlin). Meanwhile, in his first Bundesliga and senior appearance in 2026, Axel Tape replaced the injured Arthur at the start of the second 45.

Stats: Numbers - almost - completely favour Bayer 04

After more than 90 intense minutes of play, Bayer 04 had the upper hand in all relevant statistics - apart from the number of goals scored, of course. 66 per cent possession, 57 per cent of duels won, plus 12 to 8 shots on goal and better pass completion (87 to 77 per cent). Thanks to Jarell Quansah's late equaliser, the Werkself have scored in each of their last 14 home matches.

Next up: On the road in Hamburg and Freiburg

The Werkself have another midweek game, this time in the Bundesliga. The rearranged fixture at Hamburger SV is on Wednesday, 4 March (kick-off: 20:30 CET) Away tickets for this match are sold out. That is followed on Saturday, 7 March (kick-off: 15:30 CET) by the away clash at SC Freiburg - remaining tickets are available HERE.