Werkself review #ASRB04: One foot in the final

Summary: Clarity and structure lead to victory

As expected, it was an intense game in front of a raucous crowd at the Stadio Olimpico, but the Werkself tool early control with their cautious play. The hosts pressed high, but the champions of Germany were always able to find space behind the first wave. However, the first big chance of the night fell the way of the Italians when Romelu Lukaku headed onto the bar. Moments later at the other end, Jeremie Frimpong struck the side netting. It wasn’t long until the ball went the right side of the post, though, as Alejandro Grimaldo intercepted a misplaced pass and teed up Florian Wirtz to slot in just before the half-hour mark. Leverkusen remained in control after the break, although there were far fewer chances. That was until the 74th minute when the Werkself’s patience paid off as Andrich fired into the top corner from over 20 yards to secure a 2-0 first-leg advantage. You can read more about the game in our match report.

Reaction: “Mature performance with great discipline”

Xabi Alonso said after the game: “We fought very well. It was a very mature performance with great discipline and good football. We were compact in defence and so created lots of chances of our own. We’re well placed, but there’s still a tough second leg to come in Leverkusen.” The Spaniard was also full of praise for goalscorer Andrich: “You get second chances in football. Rob has put behind his bad memories of this stadium. He didn’t just score the goal, he played an important role for the team with his aggression and character. I’m delighted for him.”

Straight after the full-time whistle, Granit Xhaka turned his attention straight to the second leg: “The two goals are very important. They really help us a lot for the return game. But we still want to score a goal next week to help settle things early.” Andrich had the same thoughts: “We’ve finished the first half of this semi-final with a win today. But we want to play the same next week as well.”

Press review: “Door to the final wide open”

Kicker’s headline read “Wirtz and Andrich fire Werkself on course for final” and spoke of a “commanding display”. Bild wrote: “The door to the final is wide open”. The Rheinische Post had a similar conclusion: “Leverkusen open door to the final against Roma”. A peak audience of 6.2 million watched the game on TV in Germany and an average of 5.13 viewers meant a market share of 22.3 percent, which is the highest rate for a game in the competition this season.

Personnel: Wirtz sets personal best

Wirtz, who turned 21 at midnight after the game in Rome, scored his fourth goal of this Europa League season, which is a personal best for him in the competition. He’s also got four assists, which is another PB. He’d never before contributed more than seven goals in a Europa League campaign.

Josip Stanisic also had reason to celebrate as his setup for the second goal was his fourth assist in Europe this season. No Werkself player has more provisions in the Europa League in 2023/24.

Statistics: More than twice as many shots

Things were tight in some statistical areas, with Roma seeing 53 percent possession and winning 51.3 percent of challenges. They were also slightly ahead in terms of passing accuracy at 87.1 percent compared to Leverkusen’s 85.2 percent. However, the Werkself’s 19 attempts on goal was more than double what the host managed (eight). The defensive numbers are also impressive, with Bayer 04 now keeping a competition-leading five clean sheets in their 11 Europa League fixtures this term.

Outlook: To Frankfurt then second leg in Leverkusen

Next up for the Werkself is another away game at Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday (kick-off: 5.30pm CEST) for Matchday 32 in the Bundesliga. Then there’s the second leg of this semi-final as Roma come to the BayArena on Thursday (kick-off: 9pm).