Werkself review: The ‘energy to win difficult matches too’

Once again this season, the Werkself away game at Mainz turned into a goal-fest. After an outstanding flying start, the Black and Reds allowed the hosts back into the game, but went on to win the match thanks to an impressive second-half display. In addition to a record being set, various milestones and a long-awaited first goal, what stands out above all is the joy at the “energy to win difficult matches too”. The Werkself review of the 4-3 win in Mainz.

Summary: Werkself on the hunt for goals once again

Bayer 04 got off to a flying start in their match at the MEWA ARENA. Robert Andrich scored a spectacular goal just five minutes into his 200th Bundesliga appearance, Patrik Schick followed suit in the ninth minute. As the match progressed, however, Mainz found their feet and levelled the scores before half-time with two goals from Anthony Caci (33’, 42’). The Black and Reds used the half-time break to regroup after the Mainz 05 double strike and then went back on the attack: First, Jarell Quansah scored with a header ten minutes after the restart to restore the lead, then Moussa Diaby finished off a counter-attack in style to make it 4–2 (65'). The Werkself conceded a late consolation goal from Benedict Hollerbach (90+2’) but were able to celebrate their first away win of the season shortly after that.

Match report
Match highlights
Extended highlights
Full match replay

Reaction: “We managed to refocus”

“We were expecting this high-scoring match to some extent, because we knew how difficult it is to defend against Mainz,” said head coach Carles Martínez at the post-match press conference. “Nevertheless, all in all I’m satisfied – after conceding those two goals, we managed to refocus. That’s very important.” The Spaniard saw room for improvement in his team’s defensive performance, but knows “it’s important to pick up points while we work on our game”. Martínez was particularly pleased with the goals from Andrich and Diaby: “Both worked hard and well and deserved those goals. They’ll certainly gain even more confidence from this.”

The two goalscorers spoke to the Werkself TV after the game. “I’ve been waiting a very long time for this and I’m just happy,” declared Moussa Diaby, who also highlighted the team’s mentality in the second half. “We’ve shown that we have the energy to win difficult matches too.” Robert Andrich was also “pleased with the performance and the win today”, but, like his coach, he was self-critical too: “We keep finding ourselves in situations where we let the opposition back into the game when we’re leading. We need to be smarter and play with more maturity.”

Post-match reaction
Post-match press conference

What the papers say: ‘Dream start’ and ‘Schick record’

“Bayer win with Schick record-breaking performance,” was the headline in the Rheinische Post, as the paper summed up: “The start to the ‘weeks of truth’ went according to plan.” Meanwhile, kicker described it as a “match full of twists and turns”, where Bayer 04 ultimately prevailed, thanks in part to a “dream start”. Bild Zeitung praised Leverkusen’s second-half performance, when Martínez’s side “got down to business” and “didn’t give anything away in front of their own goal”.

Personnel: Personal bests and milestones

With his goal to make it 2–0, Patrik Schick has now scored in each of his first five Bundesliga matches since the start of the season. This equals the club record, previously achieved by Dimitar Berbatov (2005/06) and Stefan Kießling (2009/10). To celebrate this, Bayer 04 fans can secure free printing of the Czech player’s name when buying a new jersey up to and including Sunday 11 October (23:59 CEST).

FREE PRINTING

Robert Andrich also had reason to celebrate – and not just because of his stunning goal that put his side ahead: In his first start of the current Bundesliga campaign, the 32-year-old made his 200th appearance in Germany’s top flight. Jonas Hofmann surpassed that milestone when he came on as a substitute in the 83rd minute, celebrating his 300th Bundesliga appearance. Congratulations to you both!

Patrik Schick, Carles Martínez und Edmond Tapsoba nach Abpfiff

Although Moussa Diaby was playing “only” his 129th Bundesliga match, he was clearly delighted with his first goal since returning to the Werkself. For the Frenchman, it was also his 50th goal in a Werkself jersey. Here’s to many more!

Stats: Martínez team prolific up front

Bayer 04 continue to have the upper hand over Mainz 05. Since February 2023, the Black and Reds are unbeaten against Mainz and have lost only two of their last 18 Bundesliga encounters. With this 4–3 victory, Leverkusen not only secured their third consecutive win for the first time since February, but also scored more than one goal once again: in each of the seven competitive matches under Martínez, the Werkself have always scored at least twice; the Bayer 04 record run is held by Bruno Labbadia with eight matches.

Next up: First Poznań, then Freiburg

The win against Mainz marks the start of four consecutive double-fixture weeks. The next leg of the Werkself’s marathon run of fixtures is on Thursday 15 October (kick-off: 18:45 CEST) in the UEFA Europa League away at Lech Poznań in Poland. That is followed by the Bundesliga home fixture against SC Freiburg on Sunday 18 October (kick-off: 15:30 CEST).