Werkself review #BVBB04: Improvement goes unrewarded

SUMMARY: MELEE LEADS TO GOAL

The goal that decided this clash came early on. Bayer 04 had actually already dealt with a Dortmund attack but the hosts hit back with determination. Moukoko crossed the ball from the left and Adeyemi shot from a tight angle. Lukas Hradecky got to the ball but neither he nor Piero Hincapie were able to clear the ball from the line in the ensuing melee. as Marco Reus seized the opportunity to force the ball over the line (9’). The game developed into a battle of attrition with chances on both sides. Patrik Schick in particular had some good goalscoring opportunities: A curler flew just past the top corner (19’), then Kobel first saved a shot from the Czech (52’) and twice reacted brilliantly to keep him out from close range (63’/68’). The headed goal by Exequiel Palacios was chalked off by VAR due to the striker just being offside (52’) and Sardar Azmoun was in an offside position beforehand with an own goal by Schlotterbeck (80’). A lot happened at the Signal Iduna Park. On top of that, there was the red card for Lukas Hradecky in added time after the keeper handled the ball outside the penalty area. HERE is the match report.

REACTION: "SHOWED ANOTHER SIDE"

The trend was clear: Bayer 04 improved significantly compared with last week. “It wasn’t good in the first half but I saw a clear improvement in performance in the second where we were sharper and more aggressive in challenges. When you create so many situations over ninety minutes that lead to good chances it’s very annoying and disappointing to go home empty-handed,” said head coach Gerardo Seoane. Jonathan Tah shared that view: “At the end of the day, we have to make better use of our chances. Everything was very tight with the goal we conceded and there was a lot of confusion. But we weren’t overawed and we built pressure towards the end of the first half. It’s definitely positive for me that we showed another side as a team. And now we’ll start to pick up points in the next matches.”

PERSONNEL: SCHICK'S PRIVATE DUEL WITH KOBEL

Two Werkself players stand out. First and foremost, Patrik Schick as the otherwise so reliable Czech found his match in Dortmund keeper Kobel with several big chances. “A player of Patrik’s quality normally converts one or two. But he had a good game and won several balls from Hummels and Schlotterbeck. The important thing is he got his shot away in situations like that like,” said Seoane. one topic of discussion was the very late red card in added time shown to Bayer 04 keeper Lukas Hradecky who handled the ball outside his area from a long Dortmund pass to Marco Reus. “I felt I caught it inside the box but the pictures show something else. Of course, it would have been better to make a different decision and go in with my head,” said the Werkself captain.

STATS: DUEL ON EQUAL TERMS

An assessment of the stats shows that both teams did not give anything away and that each had their noses in front. With shots on goal (15 to 8) the Black and Yellows dominated, which did not change anything with the wealth of opportunities for Leverkusen in the second half. Bayer 04 had more possession than Borussia (55 to 45 per cent) and were also on top in terms of passes completed (81 to 76 per cent). Dortmund did have the edge in challenges (52 to 48 per cent). So it was a quite balanced encounter overall, that did not necessarily deserve a winner.

WHAT THE PAPERS SAY: PRAISE FOR PALACIOS

Both the Kicker and the Express report a “lucky Dortmund victory.” The Süddeutsche Zeitung describes the two saves from the BVB goalkeeper Kobel against Patrik Schick as “fitting for the circus.” The Rheinische Post rates Exequiel Palacios as the best Leverkusen player with the following explanation: “Had the most touches of the ball for Leverkusen in the first half and he endeavoured to close down space in midfield that was too often evident in Elversberg. His headed goal from a Schick shot saved by Gregor Kobel was rightly ruled out as offside (52’). Made his case for another start.” And the colleague at the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger also rated the Argentinian highly: “Bayer’s best player in the middle. Battled hard including beyond the limit of what was allowed.”

OUTLOOK: TWO HOME GAMES IN SUCCESSION

After the unsuccessful start to Bundesliga season number 60, the Werkself are at home in the next two games. Bayer 04 first play FC Augsburg, who suffered a 4-0 home defeat on matchday one against SC Freiburg, on Saturday 13 August with the kick-off at 15.30 CEST. That is followed a week later on 20 August by the next home game at the BayArena, also at 15.30 CEST, against TSG Hoffenheim.