Werkself review: ‘We lacked the clinical edge’

Summary: A lot of effort, little reward

Despite a promising start, the Werkself found themselves two goals down early on following goals from Ermedin Demirovic (16’) and Jamie Leweling (22’), just as they did in the DFB Pokal tie against FC Nürnberg. As in the 5–2 victory over FCN, the Black and Reds responded immediately and pulled one back to make it 2-1 through Patrik Schick (29'). Leverkusen were now on the front foot and, with a little more luck in front of goal, could well have equalised before half-time. Instead, the visitors struck again with clinical precision shortly after the restart: Bilal El Khannouss and, once more, Demirovic scored Stuttgart’s third and fourth goals of the day. Although the final touch in attack was often lacking, the Black and Reds spirit remained high. The team led by Carles Martínez continued to play attacking football and, through the hard-working Ibrahim Maza , managed to pull a goal back to make it 4-2 (79’). However, despite their best efforts, Leverkusen were unable to score any further goals on the day.

• Match report
• Match highlights
• Full match replay

Reaction: “We gave our all”

“In my opinion, the scoreline is too high for the open game it was,” said head coach Carles Martínez at the post-match press conference, noting that his team “could have scored more than just one goal, particularly in the first half”. The Spaniard also declared: “I saw a lot of things from my team that I’m happy with, but of course we want to improve so that we can win this sort of match as well.” To that end, Martínez also wants to “work on our defensive organisation”, but he knows: “Right now, we need to focus on recovering so that we can do better again on Thursday.”

“It was a real battle. You could see just how much was at stake in this match; unfortunately, we didn’t win it in the end,” said Robert Andrich after the match, but he also said: “We gave our all and fought hard in every challenge. We were absolutely determined to win; as far as our mentality and determination are concerned, we’ve got nothing to reproach ourselves for.”

Afonso Moreira agreed and immediately set out the way forward: “We need to focus on the positives, but also learn from the match. We’ll carry on, come back here on Thursday and beat Marseille.”

• Post-match reaction
• Post-match press conference

What the papers say: “Both sides laid their cards on the table”

“The Werkself had good chances, but lacked the clinical finishing,” reported the Bild Zeitung, which described the clash as a “full-blooded encounter”. Kicker also noted an “open attack from both sides – albeit with varying degrees of efficiency” and, with regard to the closing stages, acknowledged that “Bayer didn’t give up to the end.” The Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger’s summary reads similarly: “Leverkusen stayed in the game and had some promising attacks, but the final pass or finish just didn’t come off.” 

Stats: Black and Red domination not enough

The tremendous energy shown by the Werkself is reflected in the match stats: Whether it was possession (63% to 37%), completed challenges (56% to 44%), pass completion (82% to 72%) or shots on goal (24 to 15) – Bayer 04 were statistically the better side. The Black and Reds also managed to find the net in their 23rd consecutive Bundesliga home game. That is Leverkusen’s longest run of scoring at home since the end of 2013.

Up next: Marseille followed by FC Köln

The Werkself now head into the final double-fixture week before the next international break. On Thursday 5 November (kick-off: 21:00 CET), Bayer 04 face Marseille at home in the Europa League – tickets are available HERE. The following Sunday, 8 November (kick-off: 15:30 CET), the Black and Reds cross the Rhine for the derby against FC Köln.