Compared with the 4-1 win at Eintracht Frankfurt head coach Xabi Alonso made four changes to his starting line-up: Matej Kovar, Piero Hincapie, Exequiel Palacios and Amine Adli replaced Lukas Hradecky, Aleix Garcia, Nathan Tella and Patrik Schick (all on the bench) in the starting XI.
After an opening phase of the game with several interruptions due to fouls by both sides, FC Bayern took the lead with the first chance of the game: Harry Kane scored with a header from a Michael Olise cross (9’). At the other end, Manuel Neuer parried a shot from Jeremie Frimpong five minutes later as he was through in a one-on-one. The game was then evenly balanced with initially no further chances for either team. FC Bayern's Joshua Kimmich tried a long-range effort after the half-hour mark and then the final phase of the first half saw increasing intensity in challenges – including angry exchanges and bookings. The flow of the game suffered and Leverkusen went into half-time 1-0 down.
The second half began with a blow to the Werkself: A cross from Kimmich slipped through Kovar's hands leaving Jamal Musiala with the tap-in from close range to put FC Bayern 2-0 up (55'). Before the game could restart after the goal, the FCB keeper Neuer went off injured and he was replaced by winter signing Jonas Urbig making his debut for FC Bayern (58'). Just after the hour mark, referee Michael Oliver showed Nordi Mukiele a second yellow card after a foul on Kingsley Coman – the Leverkusen player was sent off as a result (61').
Ten minutes later Oliver was called to the video screen and he awarded a penalty after substitute Edmond Tapsoba was adjudged to have held onto Kane from a FC Bayern corner. Kane calmly slotted the penalty into the top right corner (75'). The start of the final phase of the game saw Alonso substitute players on a booking in Frimpong, Granit Xhaka and Florian Wirtz (80’). With the exception of a shot against the bar from Joao Palhinha in added time not much happened in front of either goal so that the first leg ended in a 3-0 defeat for the Werkself.
The next game for the Werkself is in the Bundesliga with a home fixture against Werder Bremen. The kick-off on Saturday, 8 March is at 15:30 CET. That is followed three days later by the Round of 16 second leg against FC Bayern on Tuesday, 11 March (kick-off: 21:00 CET). The final match before the international break is an away game at VfB Stuttgart (Sunday, 16 March, 19:30 CET).
Match stats:
FC Bayern: Neuer (Urbig 58') - Laimer (Stanisic 68'), Upamecano, Kim (Dier 89'), Davies - Kimmich, Goretzka (Palhinha 89') - Olise, Musiala, Coman (Sané 68') - Kane
Bayer 04: Kovar - Mukiele, Tah, Hermoso, Hincapie - Frimpong (Arthur 80'), Palacios, Xhaka (Garcia 80'), Grimaldo (Buendía 87’) - Wirtz (Schick 80') - Adli (Tapsoba 68’)
Goals: 1-0 Kane (9’), 2-0 Musiala (55’), 3-0 Kane (75’)
Yellow cards: Laimer, Goretzka - Tapsoba, Tah
Red cards: Mukiele
Referee: Michael Oliver (England)
Attendance: 75,000 (sold out) at the Football Arena Munich
This special event showed once again how strong Bayer 04 are as a team: As part of ‘BarmeniaGothaer gives joy’, the Werkself players Edmond Tapsoba, Ibrahim Maza and Christian Kofane supported the sale of individually designed T-shirts for a good cause at the Fanwelt on Thursday. Several hundred fans came to take part in the charity campaign. Leverkusen's main sponsor BarmeniaGothaer donated the proceeds to the Fondation Edmond Tapsoba, which helps people in Tapsoba's home country of Burkina Faso in their challenging everyday lives.
Show more
With three games to play before the end of the season, the Bayer 04 Women can break one record and equal another at SGS Essen. After three wins on the bounce, coach Roberto Pätzold's team are aiming to maintain the chance of third place in Sunday’s away game (14:00 CEST, Stadion an der Hafenstraße).
Show more
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…
Show more
From Ouagadougou to Leverkusen – and back: in March, Bayer 04 travelled with Edmond Tapsoba for a special project in his homeland Burkina Faso. The country where his roots and heart lie. The country where he’s more than a world-class defender: a symbol of hope and a role model for an entire generation. The result is a 45-minute documentary about Tapsoba’s long journey from Africa via Portugal to Leverkusen, which offers extraordinary, one-off and emotional insights.
Show more
Edmond Tapsoba has signed an early extension to his contract with Bayer 04 Leverkusen. With two years left on his current deal, the 27-year-old Burkina Faso international has extended his contract until 30 June 2031. The centre-back joined as a young talent from Portuguese top-flight club Vitoria Guimaraes at the start of 2020.
Show more
