Werkself review #B04SVW: ‘We have to believe in ourselves again’

SUMMARY: WERKSELF SHOW ENDEAVOUR BUT NO GOALS

The match in front of a full house at the BayArena began with Leverkusen having the majority of possession as usual. The first shot – and the first goal at the same time – came from the visitors: Romano Schmid gave Werder Bremen the lead when he converted a square ball from Jens Stage (7'). The first shot from the Black and Reds came on 26 minutes but was saved by the Werder keeper Michael Zetterer. The first half ended after an offside goal by Milos Veljkovic and an Aleix Garcia free kick that hit the bar. The Werkself made three substitutions for the restart including Florian Wirtz. He had to go off 15 minutes later after being fouled. The second offside goal of the game followed, this time André Silva found the back of the net for Werder Bremen. The Werkself were then livelier and had several good chances but failed to score. At the other end, Justin Njinmah sealed the win with a strike in added time to make it 2-0 (90+4'). HERE is the match report.

REACTION: "WE KNOW THEY ARE REALLY IMPORTANT FOR US"

"It wasn't good today. We were too hectic and didn't have any control. We want to forget this game as soon as possible and we have to believe in ourselves again," said Xabi Alonso at the post-match press conference. Nathan Tella said on Werkself TV: "I'd say it was the final pass and the effectiveness in both boxes. We couldn't make a tackle and didn't get the ball in the net."

Aleix Garcia, speaking to Werkself TV, praised the support at the BayArena: "Our fans are unbelievable. We know that they are really important for us for every game and also for next week. And we will try to make a nice week."

WHAT THE PAPERS SAY: "HIGHLY EMOTIONAL ENCOUNTER"

The view of the kicker: "Crisis-hit Bremen win a highly emotional encounter in Leverkusen. The Werkself played with plenty of passion, particularly after Wirtz was substituted due to an injury, and they grappled with Werder in a defensive battle." The Rheinische Post says: "Leverkusen revealed problems, gave away the ball too easily and simply looked less focused than the team from the Weser." The newspaper added: "While Bremen celebrated a liberating victory (after four games in succession without a win, ed.), Leverkusen were exasperated three times: with the injury to Wirtz, the lost game and the missed chances to make up ground on Bayern in the title race." FC Bayern lost 3-2 at home to VfL Bochum on Saturday.

PERSONNEL: FIRST START IN THE BUNDESLIGA 

Emiliano Buendía, the Spanish winter signing on loan from Aston Villa, made his first start in the Bundesliga against Werder Bremen after four appearances as a substitute.

STATS: SECOND LEAGUE DEFEAT OF THE SEASON

The 2-0 loss against Werder Bremen was the second league defeat of the season and is the equal highest Bundesliga home defeat under Xabi Alonso together with the 2-0 reverse against Borussia Dortmund at the end of January 2023. It is the second defeat in succession across competitions – the last time that happened to the Werkself was in May 2023. And that is also the same number of defeats as in the previous 33 games.

And the match stats: Bayer 04 dominated proceedings with 73% possession and 18 shots on goal to 11. Werder Bremen had the edge in terms of duels won: They had 54% and the Black and Reds 46%.

OUTLOOK: CHAMPIONS LEAGUE, BUNDESLIGA, INTERNATIONAL BREAK

The Werkself are back in action in the Champions League Round of 16 second leg against Bayern Munich on Tuesday, 11 March (kick-off: 21:00 CET). That is followed five days later by Bundesliga Matchday 26 with an away game at VfB Stuttgart (Sunday, 16 March, 19:30 CET). The international break comes after that.