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
It has been a long time since feeling what it’s like to come away empty-handed. The last – and so far only – defeat of the season, in Elversberg, was two months ago. Since then, Bayer 04 have followed that up with seven wins and a draw. Now it has happened again away to TSG Hoffenheim. As the match progressed, the Werkself grew in confidence and “could even have scored the opening goal”, as Robert Andrich said after the game. In the end, it was the side from Sinsheim who sealed a 3–0 victory after “hectic closing stages” (kicker). The Werkself review.
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