2-1 in Molde – early double whammy paves the way

Head coach Xabi Alonso made seven changes for the game against the Norwegian side. The only players remaining in the starting line-up were Edmond Tapsoba and Jonathan Tah, who was captain on the night, plus Granit Xhaka and Jeremie Frimpong. The hosts sat deep from the kick-off with the Werkself almost exclusively camped out in the opposition half. Bayer 04 did not need much time to get warmed up or to find a way through the Molde defence – and take the lead.

early goals from Frimpong and Tella 

The first effort, started by Nathan Tella, who put the goalkeeper Jacob Karlstrøm under pressure in the penalty area, saw Frimpong and Amine Adli follow up to force a turnover in possession. The latter set up Frimpong who slotted the ball into the net to make it 1-0 (14'). Just four minutes later, Adam Hlozek won the ball in the middle of the park and set up a counter-attack from his own half that ended with a through ball to teammate Tella. The Werkself number 19 hit the ball low into the far corner to make it 2-1 with his first goal for Bayer 04.

The game settled down after the early two-goal advantage for Leverkusen. The final clear-cut chance of the first half came on 38 minutes: Once again the attack worked well with Tella lobbing the ball through to Adli who put his shot over the Molde keeper but just past the target. The Black and Reds went into half-time with a deserved lead at the end of the first 45 minutes.

Molde score, Bayer 04 keep calm

The hosts were the livelier team after the restart and they created a number of chances. Wolff Eikrem dribbled his way through the Leverkusen defence to be in a one-on-one with the Bayer 04 keeper Matej Kovar but he spread himself and made the save (59'). The biggest chance fell to substitute Eric Kitolano in the penalty area but his low shot only hit the post (76'). Bayer 04 lacked accuracy in the second half. With four minutes of the 90 to play, a header from Emil Breivik found its way into the Leverkusen goal. Tah and Co. then made sure they held on to the win with the final scoreline of 2-1.

outlook: Derby at the BayArena

Bayer 04 travel back to Leverkusen on Friday morning. After a final training session a day later, the next game is on Sunday 8 October on Bundesliga matchday nine: The Black and Reds entertain FC Köln in the derby. The kick-off is at 15.30 CEST.

Match stats:

Molde: Karlstrøm (Petersen 41’) – Øyvann, Hagelskjaer, Ellingsen – Løvik, Hestad (Kitolano 67’), Kaasa (Grødem 80’), Breivik, Haugen (Cappis 80’) – Wolff Eikrem (Gulbrandsen 67’), Eriksen

Bayer 04: Kovar – Stanisic, Tah, Tapsoba (Grimaldo 69’), Hincapie – Xhaka, Andrich – Frimpong (Kossounou 90+1’), Adli (Wirtz 83’), Tella (Hofmann 70’) – Hlozek (Boniface 83’)

Goals: 0-1 Frimpong (14’), 0-2 Tella (18’), 1-2 Breivik (87’)

Booked: Eriksen, Løvik 

Referee: Anastasios Papapetrou (Greece)

Attendance: 8,190 at the Molde Arena