Werkself review #B04WOB: Reward for a huge effort

Summary: Dominance again rewarded late

The game got off to a blistering start as an own goal from Nordi Mukiele put the visitors in front after just five minutes. But the Werkself responded to turn things around through Wirtz with a quarter of an hour gone and then Jonathan Tah just after the half-hour mark. However, Wolfsburg had a response of their own and restored their advantage inside the first half through Sebastiaan Bornauw’s header and Mattias Svanberg’s long-range effort. Head coach Xabi Alonso introduced defender Piero Hincapie at the break, with the Ecuadorian producing an immediate response to restore parity after 49 minutes. It looked like the game would end all square, despite the increasing pressure and numerous chances from Leverkusen. But the Bundesliga champions once again produced a late goal as Victor Boniface swivelled to net the winner deep in added time. Read more about the game in our report HERE.

Reaction: “Need to be critical of ourselves”

Goalscorer Boniface spoke of the team’s relief after the game: “We’re very happy. We have all three points. We knew how Wolfsburg would play. When we came out for the second half, we wanted to turn the game around, and ultimately did that.” Granit Xhaka was a bit more critical in his assessment: “We’ve won, but if we’re honest it wasn’t enough to be a top team. We need to analyse things well and work on certain points in training this week. We shouldn’t talk about individual players but about the whole team’s performance. We need to be critical of ourselves and do better in the coming weeks.”

Speaking at his post-match press conference, Alonso added: “On the one hand, I’m pleased about the three points. On the other hand, I’m not 100 percent pleased with our performance. The first half in particular was too crazy, not solid enough. We rightly conceded three goals and defended too tentatively. Conceding nine goals from four games is too many. We definitely need to do better defensively. We need to be more solid against the ball but also with it.”

What the papers say: “Bayer spectacle”

kicker’s headline read: “Last-minute Bayer strike again”. Bild also spoke of a “Bayer spectacle”, adding “Last-minute Leverkusen strike again, beating Wolfsburg 4-3 late on ahead of facing Bayern”. The Rheinische Post called it a “seven-goal spectacle” in which the Werkself were “susceptible defensively” but once again proved their “last-minute qualities”. They also named Boniface the player of the match.

Personnel: Wirtz and champions tifo

Wirtz brought up his sixth competitive goal of the season, which is the most of any German player across Europe’s top five leagues.

Bayer 04’s 12th man also played their part, setting up the atmosphere with a huge champions tifo across the Nordkurve that displayed the Meisterschale, Alonso and the words “Unbeatable warriors – led by the king!”

Stats: Over 79 percent possession

The Werkself’s on-field dominance was reflected in the numbers, boasting 79 percent possession and leading the shot count 20-9. Leverkusen have now also scored 11 Bundesliga goals in the 90th minute or later since the start of 2023/24. Bayer 04 won 62 percent of challenges and had a pass completion rate of 91.5 percent (Wolfsburg: 68.5 percent).

Looking ahead: Big game up next

The Werkself now have a week to prepare for their crunch match against Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena next Saturday (kick-off: 6.30pm CEST). Four days later there’s the first home game in the UEFA Champions League as AC Milan visit the BayArena on Tuesday, 1 October (9pm).