"I think we played very well. We gave almost nothing away and pressed Atletico hard. But we were too careless in the final third to pose a threat. Now we can only look forward to climbing up a place in the group in the next three games," said Kevin Volland.
Bayer 04 head coach Peter Bosz made three changes to last Friday's line-up in the Bundesliga at Eintracht Frankfurt: The injured Wendell plus Aleksandar Dragovic and Lucas Alario (both on the bench) were replaced by skipper Lars Bender, Jonathan Tah and Karim Bellarabi. In pouring rain at the Wanda Metropolitano, the Werkself started with a 4-2-3-1 formation – with Mitchell Weiser (right) and Lars Bender (left) on the flanks in the back four.
The approach to this third group match by Bayer 04 was clear: A result was essential at the La Liga runners-up. The Werkself refused to sit back and immediately looked for fast transition as soon as the opportunity arose. And the visitors created the first dangerous move of the evening: After Bellarabi failed to connect properly the ball fell to Julian Baumgartlinger but his shot from 14 yards out flew over Jan Oblak's goal: But not by much (9'). Two minutes later, Kevin Volland put Nadiem Amiri through in a promising position but the Atletico defence coped with his shot (11'') – Bayer 04 were in the game.
Atletico's game often failed to flow as the Werkself showed great aggression and were quick to tackle. Above all, Sven Bender one a lot of clever possession. The visitors had everything in control in the opening half hour and always looked just a little more aware and in tune. The Madrid team provided a rather rough response and Amiri had to be treated on 31 minutes after he was hit in the face by forearm of Saul Niguez. The first shot on goal by the Spaniards came almost immediately after that but Lukas Hradecky dived at the right moment and had no trouble holding onto a low drive from Renan Lodi (32'). Bayer 04 broke through into the danger zone just before the break but Oblak was able to pluck a Bellarabi cross from the right out of the air without any trouble (45+). The Werkself went into half-time in the back of an inspired and brave performance and were the livelier and better team.
The Spaniards endeavoured to get forward more after the restart but again found it difficult to find space against a solid and flexible Werkself defence. Koke was deservedly booked after a rather agricultural tackle on Kai Havertz on the halfway line (55'). Amiri tried a volley from long-range but clearly missed the target (56'). Shortly after that, there was a hint of a chance for the hosts but Diego Costa failed to connect properly with his header (58'). Hradecky was called into action to tip a Thomas Lemar lob over the bar with a flying save (64') although there was an offside before the shot
Sven Bender worked hard with plenty of courage and skill and was a potential man of the match – the main man in the Werkself defence was outstanding. However, Bayer 04 lacked the necessary precision up front to make the most of promising counter-attacks and really threaten the opposition goal. Atletico coach Diego Simeone reacted by making his third substitution, bringing on Alvaro Morata for Koke as a final attacking option (70'). Peter Bosz sent on Paulinho in place of Havertz (76').
Atletico then took the lead out of the blue: Lodi had far too much time and space to cross from the left and Morata was able to tuck away the whipped-in ball at the near post leaving Hradecky helpless (78'). Alario came on for Kerem Demirbay as Leverkusen looked for maximum attacking power in the final offensive (84'). In spite of every effort, Bayer 04 were not able to penetrate the Atletico Madrid defence in their box. Three minutes of added time also failed to bring any benefit for the Werkself. Volland was blocked at the final moment and a volley from Paulinho flew high over the bar (90+2'). Then Sven Bender had to go off injured. The final whistle came and Bayer 04 had another disappointment in this Champions League campaign..
Leverkusen return to Bundesliga action on matchday nine when Werder Bremen visit the BayArena on Saturday 26 October with the kick-off at 18.30 CET. Three days later, on Tuesday 29 October, SC Paderborn are the visitors in the second round of the DFB Cup (20.45 CET, BayArena).
Match stats:
Atletico Madrid: Oblak – Trippier, Gimenez (Hermoso 15’), Felipe, Renan Lodi – Koke (Morata 70’), Herrera, Thomas, Saul Niguez – Correa (Lemar 62’), Diego Costa
Bayer 04: Hradecky – Weiser, S. Bender (Dragovic 90+2’), Tah, L. Bender – Baumgartlinger, Demirbay (Alario 84’) – Bellarabi, Havertz (Paulinho 76’), Amiri – Volland
Goals: 1-0 Morata (78’)
Referee: Artur Soares Dias (Portugal)
Booked: Koke – Bellarabi
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