Roger Schmidt’s team had high hopes of getting a positive result against the team lying third in the Premier League: The aim was to register the first Champions League win of the season. Schmidt made three changes to the side that faced Werder Bremen in the 2-1 defeat at the weekend. The skipper Lars Bender recovered from a bout of flu to replace Wendell in the back four, Admir Mehmedi came in for Julian Brandt in midfield and Stefan Kießling started up front in place of Kevin Volland.
Both teams struggled to assert themselves at the start of the game. While the Werkself looked more determined to gain the upper hand in the opening stages Tottenham mainly focussed on their defensive duties. Bayer 04 found it hard work against an uncompromising English side but they did create goalscoring opportunities. A Kevin Kampl cross just failed to find Stefan Kießling in the centre of the Spurs box on five minutes and Admir Mehmedi’s deflected cross threatened to beat the France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris but the Spurs number one was able to make the save on eight minutes.
The bar and Leno save the day
The attacking efforts of the Werkself diminished and the visitors came into the game after 20 minutes and they succeeded in creating chances. Tottenham defender Kieran Trippier crossed from the right on 27 minutes but Dele Alli’s header went just wide of the target.The as yet unbeaten team in the Premier League pressed forward towards Bernd Leno’s goal. The Bayer 04 keeper pulled off a brilliant reflex save to prevent Erik Lamela scoring six minutes before the half-time break just after a header from his team-mate Christian Janssen hit the bar. Kampl (42’) and Chicharito (44’) had chances before the break but were unable to find the back of the net.
Schmidt brought Julian Baumgartlinger on for Hakan Calhanoglu at the start of the second half. His team upped their game, increased the tempo and created a host of chances. The ball did end up in the visitors’ net just after the restart. However, the Turkish referee Cünyet Cakir awarded a free kick for a foul on Lloris by Chicharito. The goal was chalked off.
Tottenham keeper Hugo Lloris unbeatable
The game perked up a few minutes later. Bender picked out Chicharito in the box but Lloris pulled of a fine save from the point-blank effort from the Mexico striker. The Werkself players and fans believed it was a goal but the referee was of a different opinion. The goal-line technology proved the man with the whistle to be right. The France keeper succeeded in keeping out efforts from Charles Aránguiz (57’) and Chicharito (58’). Mehmedi suffered a similar fate when Lloris saved a low drive from the edge of the box on 68 minutes. The visitors’ keeper also saved attempts by Kießling and Ömer Toprak.
The Werkself dominated the rest of the game and Tottenham were unable to create ant clear-cut chances in the second half. Kießling was about to strike the decisive blow on 84 minutes but he did not expect the pass from Kampl and was unable to control the ball in a promising position. The match ended all square in a 0-0 draw.
After a third draw in Group E, Schmidt’s team are in third place behind AS Monaco (5 points) and Tottenham (4). CSKA Moscow are fourth on two points. The next Champions League fixture is the return match against Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley Stadium on Wednesday 2 November (20.45 CET). The Werkself return to the Bundesliga campaign on Saturday (15.30 CET) when TSG Hoffenheim visit the BayArena.
Match stats
Bayer 04:Leno - Bender (Jedvaj 74’), Tah, Toprak, Henrichs - Aránguiz, Kampl - Mehmedi, Calhanoglu (Baumgartlinger 46’) - Chicharito (Brandt 85’), Kießling.
Tottenham Hotspur:Lloris - Trippier, Dier, Vertonghen, Rose - Alli, Wanyama - Lamela (Sissoko 71’), Eriksen, Son (Onomah 90’) - Janssen (Dembélé 65’).
Goals: -
Booked: Calhanoglu, Bender - Lamela
Referee: Cüneyt Cakir (Turkey)
Attendance:28,887
Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personalised Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month…
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