The match could not have had a more inauspicious start: The visitors from Portugal took the lead on six minutes. However the team under head coach Xabi Alonso were the better side before and after the goal and they refused to be daunted by the Porto lead and continued to press. The Werkself could have earned their reward and got back on level terms as fast as possible on 16 minutes but Kerem Demirbay missed a spot-kick for the Black and Reds. And other good chances for Mitchel Bakker and Amine Adli also failed to level the scores. Adli did find the back of the net but his goal was ruled out by referee István Kovács due to a handball by Patrik Schick. And the next goals were scored by the Portuguese side: Mehdi Taremi secured victory for the visitors with a brace of penalties on 54 and 64 minutes giving Porto a 3-0 lead. On the night, there was no way past a clinical Porto side and the absolutely unbeatable keeper Diogo Costa. A host of chances for the Black and Reds went unrewarded with the final score remaining at 3-0.
"Unfair margin of defeat" was the post-match assessment of the result by the skipper Lukas Hradecky. The keeper added: "Everybody saw from the course of the match that we had a really unlucky game. This season we have found it difficult to finish off games. Sometimes football is merciless and thankless – as it was today. Now we carry on with hard work!"
Xabi Alonso also commented after his first match as a coach in the Champions League: "We saw in the game against Porto that you can't afford to make mistakes at crucial moments. Now we have to first analyse the game but then put it behind us and carry on. The matches against Atlético Madrid and Club Brugge are finals if we want to go through to the last 16."
In addition to head coach Xabi Alonso, who made his first appearance in the dugout in the Champions League, Paulinho came on as a sub on 57 minutes to make his first appearance in Europe’s premier club competition this season. For Charles Aránguiz it was the first game in the current European campaign where the Chilean played the full 90 minutes.
There was a special honour for Porto's Wendell: The former Werkself player was honoured ahead of the warm-up by Fernando Carro, Bayer 04 CEO, and sporting managing director Simon Rolfes for his long career for the Black and Reds. The Brazilian left-back played under the Bayer Cross from 2014 to 2021 making 250 appearances for Bayer 04. Wendell made his debut in the Champions League and the Europa League during that stint. The 29-year-old did not play in the return match against Bayer 04.
As in last weekend's 4-0 home win against Schalke 04, the Black and Reds also came out on top in the stats in the clash with the Portuguese champions. However, the Werkself could not get a result this time round. More than three times as many shots on goal (17 to 5), almost twice as many passes (617 to 346), a better pass completion rate (88% to 77%) as well as significantly greater possession (65% to 35%) – the stats speak for themselves but the result was a 3-0 defeat.
The headline in the Rheinische Post after the game reads "Bitter 3-0 defeat against Porto. The Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger stalks about a "night to forget" given the unfortunate course of the match and sees the problems in errors in and around both penalty areas." The Bild Zeitung sums up proceedings as follows: "Alonso rues penalty fiasco."
The Werkself next return to action in the Bundesliga: The Alonso team are away to Eintracht Frankfurt on matchday 10. The clash with the Eagles is on Saturday 15 October (kick-off: 15.30 CEST) at the Deutsche Bank Park.
The new eSports season is just around the corner. The VBL Club Championship by WOW starts on Thursday 15 October (from 18:00 CEST). And, as every year, here’s an overview: What changes are there? What is staying the same?
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With seven points, Mainz 05 are currently joint seventh, level on points with sixth-placed Bayer 04. In today’s head-to-head clash (kick-off: 15:30 CEST), the Werkself must be particularly wary of the clinical Mainz strike duo. For Leverkusen fans who have left it to the last minute, there are still a few tickets available from the matchday ticket office. Those following the Black and Reds from home, on the other hand, have a choice: RTL is broadcasting the match on free-to-air TV, and Werkself Radio is also offering the expert commentary of former Bayer 04 player Falko Götz. Today’s matchday news.
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