Xabi Alonso made one change to the team that started the weekend’s 4-1 win at Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga, with Jeremie Frimpong replacing Nathan Tella on the right wing. Cheered on by 2,600 travelling fans, the Werkself made a perfect start at De Kuip as Wirtz collected the ball following a high turnover from Robert Andrich, drove forward and then picked out the bottom right corner from a central position to mark his Champions League debut with his first goal after only five minutes. The hosts thought they’d equalised only four minutes later, but Ramiz Zerrouki’s effort was ruled out for offside.
There was a lack of notable chances for a while after that until Victor Boniface fired wide on 27 minutes. It was merely a warning shot, though, as he soon found Frimpong on the right, whose flat cross across the face of goal picked out Grimaldo to double the lead on the half-hour mark. The Werkself attacking machine started to really click into gear now and produced a third goal only six minutes later when Frimpong’s lofted ball towards the far post was met on the volley by Wirtz to bag his brace. There was still time for one more before the break as Edmond Tapsoba headed down a deep Grimaldo free-kick, which Feyenoord goalkeeper Wellenreuther could only put into his own net for a 4-0 Leverkusen lead inside 45 minutes.
The first notable move of the second half saw Lukas Hradecky deny Quinten Timber before the Finn produced another stop from In-beom Hwang’s free-kick. With 71 minutes on the clock, Alonso introduced fellow Spaniard Aleix Garcia for his Champions League debut. The midfielder could only watch as Ayase Ueda found the back of the net just moments later, but again the goal was ruled out for offside. Jeanuel Belocian was then given his debut in Europe’s top club competition as well when brought on for Grimaldo in the final 10 minutes as Bayer 04 opened their Champions League account for the season with three points.
The Werkself are back in action again on Sunday as they host Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga at 3.30pm CEST. The following Saturday sees the trip to the Allianz Arena to face Bayern Munich.
Match stats:
Feyenoord: Wellenreuther - Lotomba (Hadj Moussa 60'), Trauner (Mitchell 71'), Beelen, Hancko - Hwang, Zerrouki (Smal 46'), Timber - Milambo (Nadje 74'), Gimenez, Paixao (Ueda 60')
Bayer 04: Hradecky - Tapsoba, Tah, Hincapie - Frimpong, Xhaka (Palacios 80'), Andrich, Grimaldo (Belocian 80') - Terrier (Adli 71'), Wirtz (Garcia 71') - Boniface (Schick 61')
Goals: 0-1 Wirtz (5'), 0-2 Grimaldo (30'), 0-3 Wirtz (36'), 0-4 Wellenreuther (og, 45')
Yellow cards: Trauner
Referee: Davide Massa (Italy)
Attendance: 45,000 at De Kuip
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