"We produced a great performance and fought right to the end," said Jonathan Tah after the final whistle in a game where the Werkself "battled brilliantly and played good football." Volland, who captained Bayer 04 on the night, declared: "We were very solid in challenges and defended brilliantly today. We deserved to win in the end."
Charles Aránguiz returned to the starting line-up for the Werkself following injury taking the place of Julian Baumgartlinger in defensive midfield. Nadiem Amiri returned to the side after the defeat against Mönchengladbach with Lucas Alario dropping down to the bench.
"We want to go the extra mile," announced Sven Bender before the match – and that was the approach of Bayer 04 to the game. The Werkself dominated proceedings against the top Spanish club and the first half-chances came early to Wendell (2', 11'), Volland (4', 9') and Karim Bellarabi (14'). Initially there were no real threats as the visitors from Madrid showed enormous tactical discipline as usual and were skilful in closing down spaces. However, the Spaniards fail to threaten the Werkself goal and Leverkusen remained on top. The outcome: five shots at goal without reply, over 70 per cent possession and the first outstanding chance after 20 minutes: Following some decisive play from Amiri, Volland was unable to beat the Atletico keeper Jan Oblak (20').
The Werkself stuck to their task and pinned Atletico back in their own half. However, the promising attacks lacked the necessary precision or a flash of inspiration. That meant set pieces provided the main threat: A whipped-in corner from Amiri was headed on by Atletico defender Felipe onto the bar of Oblak’s goal (38').
The next of a total of seven Werkself corners in the first half brought the deserved lead for Bayer 04: This time it was Kerem Demirbay who hit the ball towards the target from the right. Oblak made the save but Aránguiz followed up and pulled the ball back into the middle from the byline where Atletico's Thomas wanted to clear but instead turned it into his own net – 1-0 for the Werkself (41'). An interesting side note: It was the sixth own goal in favour of Bayer 04 this season. Peter Bosz's team took the lead into half-time – also because the defence led by Jonathan Tah and Sven Bender denied the visitors any clear goalscoring opportunities.
That changed seconds after the restart: Renan Lodi received a great ball from Saul Niguez but was unable to hit the target from a tight angle (46'). Aránguiz showed the ability to take blows: A rocket from Niguez hit the Chilean square on the temple. Given the battling quality of the South American, it was no great surprise that 'Charly' was briefly shaken but he soon returned to the pitch – he was back in the mix and involved in the second goal for his team: A cross from Bellarabi from the right found Volland in the penalty area – and the Werkself captain produced a moment of brilliance: He controlled the ball with his left foot, hit a firm shot with his right all from a standing position – 2-0 for the Black and Reds (55'). Mitchell Weiser had the chance to increase the lead but his shot from the edge of the box was saved by Oblak (58').
What was happening with Lukas Hradecky? The Finn in the Werkself goal was practically redundant in the first hour and only tested with a free kick from substitute Thomas Lemar from a dangerous position – and he made a confident save (62'). In the next few minutes, Hradecky had to save a skilful effort from Angel Correa (63') and a header from Niguez (65’). Atletico were – in part due to going behind – now livelier than in the first half and they pressed forward only to run up against a well organised Werkself defence or the keeper behind: Lemar tested Hradecky with a long-range effort (71'), a shot from substitute Vitolo from tight angle was saved by the Bayer 04 number one with his foot (74') and Morata was offside when the ball was in the back of the net on 75 minutes.
Bayer 04 exploited the space for attacks and remained a threat from corners: Another whipped-in cross from Demirbay almost forced the second own goal by the visitors but Oblak was able to save on the line (77'), another Demirbay corner was headed into the side netting by Kai Havertz (83'). Then the mission to register a first Champions League win of the season was made much harder: A tenacious challenge from Amiri on Santiago Arias on the touchline led the referee Damir Skomina to show Werkself midfielder a red card. The final minutes required a huge effort with the fourth official indicating five minutes of added time. Atletico sensed the chance of a consolation goal but Hradecky saved a deflected shot from Niguez on 90+1 minutes.
The game carried on, Atletico refused to give in and actually pulled a goal back: Thomas put Morata through on Hradecky and he was able to make it 2-1 (90+4'). The game almost turned sour but the Werkself were able to rely on their impressive keeper: In the final minute, Morata popped up unmarked in front of Hradecky but the Finn stuck out a foot and made a brilliant save to ensure the first Champions League victory of the season (90+5'). The Werkself now have three points in the Champions League and everything to play for. The next group match is the important away game in Moscow on 26 November (18.55 CET) but before that there is a Bundesliga match on Sunday against VfL Wolfsburg (15.30 CET).
Match stats:
Bayer 04: Hradecky – Weiser, Tah, S. Bender, Wendell (Retsos 81') – Aránguiz (Baumgartlinger 64'), Demirbay – Bellarabi, Havertz (Dragovic 88'), Amiri – Volland
Atletico Madrid: Oblak - Arias, Felipe, Hermoso, Renan Lodi (Lemar 52') - Thomas, Koke - Correa (Herrera 70'), Saúl Niguez - Morata, Diego Costa (Vitolo 61')
Goals: 1-0 Thomas (41’ o.g.), 2-0 Volland (55’), 2-1 Morata (90+4’)
Referee: Damir Skomina (Slovenia)
Booked: Weiser, Tah, Bellarabi - Oblak, Morata
Sent off: Amiri (84’, serious foul play)
Attendance: 28,160 (sold out)
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