After the two teams sussed each other out in the opening stages, the clash with the Belgian side took off in the middle of the first half – and mainly in favour of the Werkself as they targeted the Club Brugge goal with efforts from Moussa Diaby and Patrik Schick. However, the hosts proved to be efficient and scored just before half-time (42'). Head coach Gerardo Seoane made a number of substitutions in the second half to provide a boost to the attack that had failed to complete offensive moves. The Werkself had two goals chalked off due to offside decisions with the scoreline at the end remaining at 1-0 in favour of Club Brugge. HERE is the match report.
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For Jonathan Tah it was mainly in the first half that the team needed to have worked harder: "We weren't decisive enough in the first half. Brugge did much better at the start and they scored as well. We should have been more aggressive and intense from the start," declared the central defender. The 26-year-old did find praise speaking to Werkself TV for the second half performance where the team applied themselves and created more chances.
As with the defender Tah, coach Gerardo Seoane also expressed his disappointment at the post-match press conference: "We were left empty-handed again. We didn't give much away but we were severely punished. Luck wasn't on our side today."
In spite of the unlucky defeat, several Werkself players had reason to celebrate against the Belgian side: debuts in Europe's premier club competition – the UEFA Champions League. The two full-backs Piero Hincapie and Jeremie Frimpong plus midfielders Robert Andrich und Exequiel Palacios made their first appearances in the Champions League. Loanee signing from Chelsea Callum Hudson-Odoi did have 17 appearances and was a Champions League winner before the match in West Flanders but it was his Champions League debut for the Black and Reds.
Majority of possession (52.2%), more challenges won (55%), significantly more shots on goal (14) plus the better pass completion rate (82.8%) - the Werkself did come out on top in terms of statistics but the scoreboard showed a 1-0 defeat in the end. The Black and Reds were unlucky not to get a result to take home to Leverkusen.
The main issue in all print and online media after the 1-0 defeat against Club Brugge was the continuing negative trend that has seen the Werkself lose six of the first seven games in the 2022/23 season. According to the media, the problems are due in part to the frequent absence of rewards in spite of a lot of good chances. So, kicker talks about a game that was "unnecessarily screwed up" and the Leverkusener Anzeiger talks about "wasted" chances.
The Werkself have a busy run of fixtures ahead of the international break at the end of September. The Seoane team first travel to the capital on matchday six in the current 2022/23 Bundesliga season: The Black and Reds are away to Hertha Berlin on Saturday 10 September (kick-off: 15.30 CEST). That is followed by the Champions League fixture against Atlético Madrid: The match against the Rojiblancos is at the BayArena on Tuesday 13 September (kick-off: 21.00 CEST). Finally, the Werkself entertain promoted club Werder Bremen on matchday seven. The game kicks off at 15.30 CEST on Saturday 17 September.
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“As far as mentality and determination are concerned, we have nothing to reproach ourselves for,” Robert Andrich said up after the first home defeat for the Werkself this term. In terms of their play, too, the Black and Reds put in a respectable performance for long stretches of this intense and physical match, outperforming VfB Stuttgart in most areas. It was only in terms of efficiency in front of goal that the Swabians had the edge over the Werkself. Head coach Carles Martínez wants to learn from this so that, in future, they can “win this sort of match too”. The Werkself review.
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