As in their opening match against TSG Hoffenheim, the Werkself got off to a good start against Bremen. Patrik Schick crowned Nathan Tella’s solo run with the opener after five minutes. Leverkusen doubled the lead with their second shot when Axel Tape sidestepped two opponents on the right. Via Robert Andrich, Alejandro Grimaldo and Christian Kofane, Malik Tillman got hold of the ball and juggled it on his chest and shoulder before volleying in with his left foot (35’). VAR intervened after Tape’s challenge on Mbangula and Romano Schmid pulled one back from the penalty spot (44’). Leverkusen almost replied immediately, only for the woodwork to prevent a third for the Werkself when Kofane hit the bar. Stark upended Kofane in the box and received his marching orders for a second bookable offence, with Schick converting the ensuing penalty (64’). But Bremen struck back despite their numerical disadvantage. Isaac Schmidt beat Bayer 04 keeper Mark Flekken to a long ball and found the empty net (76’) before Coulibaly rewarded Bremen’s pressure with the equaliser in added time (90’+4). Read the match report HERE.
Leverkusen were disappointed after the match. “If we lead 3-1 and are a man up, we must take three points. We were too wild and made many mistakes after the sending-off. We must start playing as a team immediately, otherwise we won’t win any matches,” summarised captain Robert Andrich. Nathan Tella agreed: “We had it in our own hands and made life difficult for ourselves.” Head coach Erik Ten Hag commented: “The two goals we conceded despite being a man up should have never happened. We didn’t function as a team any more in the closing stages.” Malik Tillman too was disappointed: “I had imagined my debut differently, my feelings are rather bad. A victory for the team is more important than my goal.”
“Werder turnaround despite being a man down,” Bild am Sonntag reported. The Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung headline read: “Leverkusen do many ‘stupid things,’” citing midfielder Malik Tillman. The kicker title read: “Coulibaly crowns Werder madness.” Patrik Schick received a high mark from the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger: “After a few minutes, he was where a striker has to be and crowned Tella’s assist to open the scoring. He chipped the penalty into the middle of the goal to make it 3-1.” The Rheinische Post praised forward Christian Kofane: “He rarely had good chances at first but set up the second goal by Malik Tillman. He was out of luck when he hit the bar and won the penalty that resulted in the third goal.”
After Jarell Quansah, Ernest Poku, Christian Kofane and Claudio Echeverri had made their Bundesliga debuts against Hoffenheim, Axel Tape and sub Loïc Badé made their maiden Bundesliga appearances. Badé and Tillman made their first competitive appearance in Leverkusen colours. Patrik Schick once again demonstrated his outstanding quality in front of goal. The 29-year-old boasts 66 Bundesliga goals for Bayer 04 after his brace against Bremen and is in fifth place in the club’s all-time scorer rankings. The Czech has his sights set on the top three: he is within striking distance of Dimitar Berbatov (69 goals) and Herbert Waas (72).
Bayer 04 dominated possession (56 percent) and were in front in terms of pass completion rate (89 percent to Bremen’s 84) and corners (7-3). Werder had the higher xGoals number (2.59 to Leverkusen’s 2.10) and took more shots (13-10). Nathan Tella was the fastest player at 35.76 km/h.
After the first international break of the season, the Black and Reds entertain Eintracht Frankfurt on Friday, 12 September. The game against the team from Hesse, who have won their first two Bundesliga matches, kicks off at the BayArena at 20:30 CEST
The United Nations International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) is celebrated worldwide on 3 December. Together with Bayer AG, Bayer 04 is once again setting an example for diversity and inclusion by lighting up the BayArena in purple in the evening.
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To celebrate the Werkself victory at Borussia Dortmund and to thank the fans for their fantastic support at the stadium and at home, Bayer 04 is reducing the price of all jerseys by up to 40 euros! What's more, player or customised printing is free with selection of the DFB Pokal badge and stylish Talcid sleeve logo. Special prizes will also be raffled among all purchasers. All promotions run exclusively on the Bayer 04 online shop until Wednesday, 3 December, 11:59 CET.
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For the second time in four days, Bayer 04 face Borussia Dortmund this Tuesday evening, 2 December (kick-off: 21:00 CET) - this time in the round of 16 of the DFB Pokal, with more than 7,000 fans supporting the Werkself at Signal Iduna Park. After the recent 2-1 defeat to BVB in the league, several cup stats provide hope of revenge for the Black and Reds. There are several reasons why Bayer 04 recommends getting to the round of 16 clash early, in which VAR will be in use, unlike in the previous rounds. Read on for further information on tonight’s game in our matchday news.
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Just three days on from the Bundesliga meeting in Leverkusen, Bayer 04 now visit Borussia Dortmund in the DFB Pokal on Tuesday (21:00 CET). Ahead of the game at the Signal Iduna Park, head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about how to approach this second encounter in 72 hours and a number of developments within the squad.
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