Werkself Review #FCBB04: Record away run ends due to 'big mistakes in first half'

Summary: Bayern bag three before the break

After an initial phase in which Bayer 04, who looked slightly different with three changes in their starting line-up, also made their mark in attack, a well-timed through ball and subsequent finish from Serge Gnabry led to the hosts going 1-0 up after 25 minutes. Seven minutes later, Nicolas Jackson doubled their lead with a header from close range, which was extended to 3-0 by an unfortunate own goal from Loïc Badé shortly before the half-time whistle. The score remained in favour of Bayern, who were clearly the better side overall, after 90 minutes, with the second half proving less eventful than the first 45 minutes.

• Match report

Reaction: “Need to find better rhythm and balance”

Head coach Hjulmand summed up the match at the press conference: “Of course, they deserved to win. We even had two big chances early in the game but then made too many mistakes in defence in certain phases of the first half. To prevent goals like that from happening, we need to find better rhythm and balance within the team. We’re too open at the back in such phases of the game. Teams like Bayern punish that brutally. We’ll now analyse the game extensively, as always, and continue to work on our game management.”

Robert Andrich added: “I think an own goal like the one that made it 3-0 is obviously annoying, but the first and second goals – they were simply down to poor defending overall. Of course, if you want to get something out of a game here, you have to show a certain toughness, intensity and want to win the physical battles. We lacked that today. I do believe that we had quite a few chances of our own and could definitely have scored a goal. Unfortunately, you can't change that now. We wanted to go out there as a team and show honour and morale until the final whistle. And I think we did that.”

What the papers say: “Bayer 04 decisively beaten in Munich”

The Bild newspaper ran the headline: “Bayern rotate, Bayer frustrated!” The Rheinische Post took a similar view: “Bayern teach Leverkusen a lesson.” The Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger summed it up as follows: “Bayer 04 decisively beaten in Munich [...]. After 37 games, the Werkself finally lost away from home again.” And kicker’s review read: “After 37 Bundesliga away games in a row without defeat, Bayer 04 Leverkusen have been beaten again. The extremely passive and uninvolved runners-up of last season were beaten 3-0 by confident leaders Bayern Munich, who had surprised everyone with their line-up.”

Personnel: Schick with 150 Bundesliga appearances

Patrik Schick, who has been playing for Leverkusen since summer 2020 and previously spent a season at RB Leipzig, made his 150th Bundesliga appearance on Saturday evening in Munich. In those games, he has scored an impressive 77 goals and provided 14 assists. Claudio Echeverri, on loan from Manchester City, made first Bundesliga start.

Stats: First pointless Bundesliga away game since May 2023

Bayer 04’s impressive away streak came to an end after 37 Bundesliga games without defeat on the road. When the final whistle blew in Munich, it had been 889 days since the 3-0 defeat in Bochum on the last matchday of the 2022/23 season. Nevertheless, the longest streak of its kind undoubtedly goes down in the Bundesliga’s history books.

The match statistics show that the Werkself won 55 percent of challenges. In contrast, Bayern had 18 shots on goal compared to seven for Leverkusen, with the hosts also boasting 59 percent possession. The pass completion rate was typically high for both sides, with 91 percent for Munich and 87 percent for Leverkusen.

Coming up: Benfica then Heidenheim

The next and, for the time being, last midweek fixture will see Bayer 04 go to Lisbon to face Benfica in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday (21:00 CET). The Werkself will then play their final match before the last international break of the year at home against Heidenheim on Saturday (15:30 CET).