Werkself review of #FCBB04: Short break before UCL match

Summary: Clinical finishing and early goals decisive

The match took off straight away: With just three minutes on the clock, Leroy Sané unleashed a shot in the penalty area, Edmond Tapsoba was unlucky to deflect the ball, making it unstoppable for Lukas Hradecky as FCB took an early 1-0 lead. After the opening goal from the hosts, the Werkself rarely threatened the Bayern Munich defence. The match was primarily played in the Leverkusen half. As on 17 minutes when Jamal Musiala doubled the lead. The best chances for the Black and Reds in the first half then fell to Moussa Diaby (34’) and Robert Andrich (38’). However, Bayern were next to score when Sadio Mané found the back of the net on 39 minutes to make it 3-0 at half-time. The Werkself defence was more solid after the restart. Sardar Azmoun and Amine Adli had the best chances for Leverkusen in the second half on 64 minutes. Thomas Müller exploited an unsuccessful attempt at a clearance by Hradecky with six minutes to play as he rounded off the scoring at 4-0. HERE is the match report.

Reaction: "Bayern better in every respect"

Robert Andrich was at the end of a Werkself TV microphone after the match and he found it difficult to sum up the game: "I can't find the words. The match was very difficult to take in." The 28-year-old named the following reasons for the defeat: "We lacked everything from the start to the finish: We were too late, didn't get there and we weren't good on the ball. Bayern were better and simply too good in every respect."

Speaking at the post-match press conference, head coach Gerardo Seoane also assessed the game: "They deserved to win. It was the right margin not only in terms of the result but also in the difference in performance," said Seoane who added: "When you come to Munich, you need a perfect day to get a result and you definitely can't afford to go behind early on. Unfortunately that happened to us and it made the challenge even more difficult."

Personal: Adli zurück auf dem Rasen

Seoane was able to call on all eleven players returning from international duty. However, it was particularly pleasing to see one returnee: Amine Adli was back in the squad for the first time since recovering from a broken collarbone and he replaced Callum Hudson-Odoi on 61 minutes. "I'm very happy to be back with the team. It wasn't easy is for me being injured again after such a short time but all my teammates and the staff believed in me."

The Frenchman – as described previously – had a clear-cut chance four minutes after coming on: "It was a great moment but I still have a lot to work on to produce better things on the pitch. Manuel Neuer made an impressive save but I want to improve," said Adli.

Stats: Bayern have more possession

A look at the stats underlines the dominance of the hosts: FC Bayern unleashed 20 shots on goal with the Seoane team only producing half as many efforts. The Nagelsmann eleven were on the ball more: 62% possession. It was more balanced in terms of completed passes: FCB had 89% and the Werkself 84%. In terms of challenges, the Seoane team were just ahead with 52%.

What the papers say: "Gala performance" from Bayern

The Frankfurter Rundschau described the FC Bayern display as a "gala performance", the Kölnische Rundschau headline from a Bayer 04 perspective: "Alarm bells get louder and louder." The Rheinische Post summed up the match as follows: "The Munich team beat Leverkusen 4-0 and then took a breath. The Werkself were disappointing all over once again." And the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger took a similar view: "Bayern Munich beat Bayer 04 Leverkusen 4-0 with ease."

Outlook: Porto in the UCL, Schalke 04 in the league

The Werkself have three training sessions to prepare for their next game. Today, Saturday 1 October, and tomorrow the Seoane team will prepare for their third group match in the UEFA Champions League against Porto in the shadow of the BayArena. The team will fly out to Portugal on Monday and have the final pre-match training session at the Estádio do Dragão with the game the next day kicking off at 21.00 CEST. Leverkusen return to Bundesliga action on Saturday 8 October against Schalke 04. The kick-off at the BayArena is at 15.30 CEST.