Head coach Xabi Alonso made just two changes in another 3-4-2-1 line-up: With Robert Andrich and Exequiel Palacios both suspended, Nadiem Amiri and Kerem Demirbay played in midfield alongside Jeremie Frimpong on the right and Piero Hincapie on the left. In front of keeper Lukas Hradecky the back three again were Odilon Kossounou, Jonathan Tah and Edmond Tapsoba. The attack started as in the convincing 4-1 home win against Hertha Berlin with the trio of Moussa Diaby and Florian Wirtz plus striker Sardar Azmoun.
The Werkself started the match in controlled fashion and dominated the game early on primarily with long phases of possession in the opposition half. An approach to the game that quickly paid off: With ten minutes on the clock, it was Hincapie who had the first shot of the game but that was blocked by the Ferencváros defence. The ball returned to the Leverkusen players and Wirtz set up teammate Demirbay. The latter shot from the edge of the box into the top corner with an impressive rifled right-foot shot. The Ferencváros keeper Denes Dibusz was helpless – 1-0 to the hosts.
The hosts remained committed after taking the lead and pressed primarily down the right flank with crosses from Diaby (20', 22') but he was unable to find a teammate to increase the lead. The visitors then increasingly found their way into the game – and suddenly it became dangerous: A chipped ball to Ferencváros playmaker Kristoffer Zachariassen in a central position in front of Hradecky saw him just miss equalising with a shot against the bar (27'). In the following minutes of the first half the game appeared to settle down. Demirbay had another attempt on goal two minutes before the end of the first 45 but his low shot went just to the right of the target. The Werkself took a 1-0 lead into half-time.
The first chance for the Black and Reds in the second half fell to Diaby: After Wirtz won the ball in the Ferencváros half, the Werkself number 27 played the ball into the penalty area for teammate Diaby but the pass went too wide. That meant the Frenchman was unable to hit the target from a tight angle (57').
With 20 minutes gone in the second half, Xabi Alonso made the first two substitutions on the night. Fresh legs up front: Sardar Azmoun was replaced by Amine Adli (66'). That was followed by the introduction of Adam Hlozek (70') who came on for Diaby. Tah and Co. were solid in defence so that the team under head coach Stanislav Cherchesov were unable to pose a real threat to Hradecky's net. However, Bayer 04 appeared to lack ideas and tempo for another goal in the second half. The game looked increasingly disjointed with countless challenges. The result was to be settled from a set-piece.
Substitute Hlozek hit a free kick from 25 yards out and he just missed scoring as the ball hit the bar but defender Tapsoba followed up and was able to head home to make it 2-0 (86').
The Werkself have two away games in the next seven days: The Alonso team are away to Werder Bremen on Bundesliga matchday 24 this Sunday 12 March. The kick-off at the wohninvest Weserstadion is at 17.30 CET. A day off on Monday will be followed by two sessions behind closed doors on Tuesday and Wednesday before the return to the European stage: The second leg in the Europa League Round of 16 sees Lukas Hradecky and Co. play in Budapest on Thursday 16 March. The kick-off in the match against Ferencváros at the Puskás Aréna is at 21.00 CET.
Match stats:
Bayer 04: Hradecky – Kossounou, Tah, Tapsoba – Frimpong, Amiri, Demirbay Hincapie – Diaby (Hlozek 70’), Azmoun (Adli 66’), Wirtz (Schick 89’)
Ferencváros: Dibusz – Botka (Wingo 88’), Knoester, Abena, Civic – Vecsei, Esiti – Zachariassen – Traoré (Frederiksen 87’), Mmaee, Marquinhos (Gojak 78’)
Goals: 1-0 Demirbay (10’), 2-0 Tapsoba (86’)
Booked: Demirbay, Alonso (coach), Wirtz, Kossounou – Marquinhos, Zachariassen, Botka, Knoester
Referee: Davide Massa (Italy)
Attendance: 25,001 at the BayArena
The Bayer 04 women’s team secured a win in the friendly during the international break. Without a total of eight international players, coach Roberto Pätzold’s team defeated Bundesliga 2 side Borussia Mönchengladbach 3–1 at the Kurtekotten Training Centre, thanks to goals from Lobke Loonen (1’, penalty), Caroline Kehrer (41') and Valentina Mädl (66').
Show more
Bayer 04 will have to manage without striker Christian Kofane in the coming weeks. The 20-year-old sustained a muscle injury to his left thigh on international duty with the Cameroon national team during the recent international break. This will prevent him from playing in the upcoming Werkself matches.
Show more
FSV Mainz 05 went into the international break on the back of an away win at Borussia Mönchengladbach. Currently sixth in the table, the Rheinhessen side – who have been impressive on the road – now aim to continue their good start to the Bundesliga campaign at home when they face the Werkself on Saturday, 10 October (kick-off: 15:30 CEST). In terms of squad selection, Urs Fischer once again has more options at his disposal. Up front, the Mainz coach is likely to continue relying on what is currently the league’s most successful strike partnership. The lowdown on our next opponents.
Show more
Exciting experiences and exclusive insights into the Werkself and the BayArena awaited the young footballers from the BA04 Football Academy Guangzhou in China during their visit to the Rhineland this week. As well as taking part in a joint training session with the Bayer 04 Football Academy, the youngsters marvelled at the Bundesliga club’s stadium during a guided tour. The highlight of the visit was a private press conference with former Bayer 04 striker Stefan Kießling, during which he shared tips from his own career with the young players. On Saturday afternoon, 10 October, the group will round off their visit by supporting the Werkself in the away match in Mainz.
Show more
Fans ask, Carolin Simon answers: As part of Bayer 04’s second Ask Me Anything (AMA) session on Reddit, the Leverkusen captain took questions from the community. The full-back, who returned to the club this summer after ten years away, set aside an hour and a half for the Q&A session with fans, offering a very personal insight into, amongst other things, her daily life as a footballer and her role as captain, as well as her passion for Pokémon.
Show more
