Werkself Review #FCAB04: A 'masterful' away performance

SUMMARY: TIGHT AT THE BACK, CLINICAL UP FRONT

The defending champions delivered a performance that particularly stood out for its efficiency. Aside from a disallowed offside goal by Keven Schlotterbeck (23'), which would've levelled the score at 1-1, Bayer 04 barely allowed the hosts any chances at the WWK Arena, where Augsburg had only lost once previously this season. At the other end, the Black-and-Reds were clinical in taking their own opportunities. Martin Terrier finished off the first attack for the opener, netting his second Bundesliga goal from Jeremie Frimpong's cross after a great pass by Granit Xhaka (14'). Five minutes before half-time, Florian Wirtz effectively sealed the result with a typical Wirtz goal, the Germany international deceiving his opponent by feinting a shot and then hitting the ball through his legs and into the far corner with a precise left-footed strike. With a two-goal cushion, the visitors controlled the game in the second half and never looked in dangerous against the chasing Augsburgers. Read the full match report HERE.

REACTION: 'THE HUNGER IS BACK AGAIN'

"It was a mature and grown-up performance from the team, which I liked," said managing director for sport Simon Rolfes. "We showed a variable passing game, won the duels and were in control of the game. The fact that we found our rhythm again, our quality, our will to win, our energy, our willingness to suffer at times in order to get the three points - that's the biggest thing." Head coach Xabi Alonso stressed: "We had good momentum in our play, like we did against Inter in the Champions League. I'm very happy with the performance and the result."

Midfield leader Xhaka summarised events on the pitch: "It's really tough at Augsburg but we did it with total confidence from start to finish - with and without the ball. The hunger is back again." Lukas Hradecky saw it similarly: "For me it was a masterful away performance. We never lost our concentration for one moment after our goals, even in difficult playing conditions," said the captain, before looking ahead to the final match of the year against Freiburg next Saturday. "Credit to the team, but one more to go."

WHAT THE PAPERS SAY: 'BAYERN IN THEIR SIGHTS AGAIN'

"Leverkusen back in the title race" says the Bild am Sonntag, writing: "The fans are already rejoicing: 'Only SVB will be German champions!' No wonder, as Wirtz & Co have already made up five points on Bayern in recent weeks." The Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung also addresses the battle at the top: "Leverkusen have Bayern in their sights again". Meanwhile, the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger includes a quote from Alonso: "The table doesn't mean too much to me in December, it's too early." On Wirtz's performance, the Rheinische Post writes: "The 21-year-old is increasingly developing into a goalscorer. The way he scored the second goal, with composure, skill, instinct and accuracy, was at a very high footballing and asthetic level."

PERSONNEL: WIRTZ ALSO TOP TACKLER

There was once again one clear winner in the vote for 'Man of the Match', with Wirtz receiving comfortably the most votes from Bayer 04 supporters online. The gifted playmaker is now on an impressive six goals and four assists in the league, as well as having scored five goals already in the Champions League. What's more, Wirtz leads the Bundesliga ranking for duels won with 189 successful tackles.

STATISTICS: 567 DAYS WITHOUT AWAY DEFEAT

All the figures on the game were outshone by a much larger number this time. The success in Bavaria was the 24th away game in a row that Bayer 04 has not lost, meaning the Werkself have gone the entire calendar year unbeaten on their travels, a feat that only FC Bayern have achieved twice before (2013 and 1986). The last time the Black-and-Reds failed to pick up any points away from home was a 3-0 defeat at Bochum on 27 May 2023. A whopping 567 days had passed since then before the Augsburg game. As far as the clash against FCA is concerned, the Werkself had the upper hand in all the relevant categories, recording significantly more shots on goal (14-8), 65.8% possession and an impressive pass completion rate of 89.3% (compared to 79.6%t for Augsburg). 

LOOKING AHEAD: FINAL MATCH AGAINST FREIBURG

One last effort and then an incredible year for Bayer 04 comes to an end. The champions close 2024 with the primetime fixture this Saturday, hosting SC Freiburg at the BayArena at 18:30 CET on 21 December.