Werkself review: ‘It wasn’t our best day’

Summary: Penalty was turning point

With a shot from Nathan Tella, the Werkself made their first attacking foray (7’). As the heavy rain intensified, a closely contested battle ensued, with most of the action taking place between the penalty areas. Hoffenheim’s best chance fell to Adam Hlozek; fortunately for Leverkusen, the two-time winner against them only hit the post (38’). The match remained goalless, but without Moussa Diaby, who had to go off due to injury. During the half-time break, injury forced referee Daniel Siebert to swap roles with the fourth official, Robert Hartmann.

In the second 45, the Werkself were far more dominant, but were caught completely off guard: After reviewing the video footage, Hartmann awarded a penalty for a foul by Edmond Tapsoba on Fisnik Asllani; Andrej Kramaric converted the spot-kick to make it 1–0 to TSG (80’). Amidst the attacks by the Black and Red, the home side doubled their lead with a counter-attack finished by Alexander Prass (90’). The goalscorer was then shown a second yellow card for taking off his shirt while celebrating. To make matters worse, Loïc Badé had to be carried off the pitch following a clash of heads, before Max Moerstedt sealed the 3–0 victory for TSG (90+6’).

• Match report
• Match highlights
• Full match replay

Reaction: “We didn’t put in our best performance”

Head coach Carles Martínez was self-critical in his post-match comments: “It wasn’t our best day today; we didn’t put in our best performance. The recovery period after the long journey to Greece was short, but we’re not using that as an excuse. That’s exactly what we want: to be in the running in every competition and to stay there for as long as possible. Now the focus is on the Pokal and FC Nürnberg.” When asked about Loïc Badé, the Spaniard said: “He’s doing a bit better, given the circumstances; he’s in the shower and chatting with his team-mates.”

Robert Andrich later described it as “a match that was very evenly balanced for quite a long time. We were the better side towards the end of the first half, and the second half was decent too. Of course, there was still plenty of room for improvement today. The penalty came during a spell where we were pressing hard; we were creating chances up front and I believe we could have scored the opening goal. Ultimately, the result is, of course, too heavy a defeat for the course of the game.” Captain Edmond Tapsoba, for his part, declared: “The penalty was a decisive turning point in the match. Of course, we’re all frustrated by this; unfortunately, it wasn’t enough today. But the most important thing right now is Loïc’s (Badé, ed.) health – that takes precedence over everything else.”

• Post-match reaction
• Post-match press conference

What the papers say: “Plenty of drama in Sinsheim”

Bild Zeitung described the final quarter of an hour of the match as “packed with drama in Sinsheim”, while kicker referred to a “hectic closing phase” and a “potential 0–0 draw” that was turned on its head by the penalty. The Rheinische Post noted “hardly any chances” for Leverkusen, that meant “Bayer’s winning streak has come to an end”. The Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger awarded the day’s top marks for the Black and Reds to Jarell Quansah and Ezequiel Fernández.

Stats: Runs come to an end, but new ones begin

For the first time under Carles Martínez, the Werkself have scored fewer than two goals in a game. This run under a new head coach, that lasted ten matches, set a new record in German professional football since the Bundesliga was founded in 1963/64. This was also down to the fact that there were only nine shots on goal in total at TSG – the Werkself’s lowest tally in the Bundesliga this term. It was also the first league match where they failed to score, following 18 games with at least one goal scored.