Werkself review #B04FTC: Masterful progress to the quarter-finals

SUMMARY: EARLY GOAL BRINGS SECURITY

The Werkself played on an impressive stage in front of 50,675 spectators at the Puskas Arena, Hungary's national stadium: "The visitors made a perfect start to the game with the opening goal from Moussa Diaby coming just three minutes after the kick-off. Bayer 04 again and again pressed for a second goal and gave the hosts hardly any chances either in attack or defence thanks to a solid and controlled display. The best chances for the Black and Reds fell to Jeremie Frimpong and Edmond Tapsoba (33'). The team under head coach Xabi Alonso created lots of chances after the restart but were frustrated by their own ability to convert – as with the clear-cut chances for Mitchel Bakker (50'), Frimpong's offside goal (52') and the Diaby shot against the outside of the post (57'). Substitute Amine Adli scored on 81 minutes shortly after coming on for a deserved and long awaited scoreline of 2-0. The match report.

REACTION: "MATURE PEFORMANCE"

The joy was also evident in interview as captain Lukas Hradecky summed up the game as follows: "The opponents had their chances in the first half but we defended well. It was a mature performance and we are through." Nevertheless, the keeper also kept his feet on the ground and was humble. The Finn said in view of the forthcoming match against the champions Bayern Munich: "Now we've got a real test on Sunday. We want to take the momentum from the last games and produce a good performance on Sunday."

And defender Jonathan Tah was also happy in giving his assessment: "We were into the game in the first ten minutes and that was good. That shows we were fully on the case mentally. It got quieter in the stadium. The ten minutes after that were okay but we gave Ferencváros too many chances. In the second half we deservedly sealed the win near the end."

PERSONNEL: BIG SQUAD, IMPRESSIVE TEAM DISPLAY

The Werkself played their usual 3-4-1-2 formation in the game at the Puskas Arena. Alonso rotated again with three changes to his starting eleven compared with the 3-2 win at Werder Bremen: Edmond Tapsoba came into the defence in place of Odilon Kossounou, Florian Wirtz replaced Amine Adli, and the Spanish coach opted for Sardar Azmoun up front in place of Adam Hlozek. Nevertheless, all the players named plus Timothy Fosu-Mensah (81’) and Kerem Demirbay (86’) were brought off the bench during the game and thereby also contributed to the win and to a solid team performance. Charles Aránguiz (calf problem) and Andrey Lunev (back injury) were not in the squad. In addition, Nadiem Amiri (muscular problems), Karim Bellarabi (illness) and Patrik Schick (groin) were sidelined.

STATS: SIX GAMES UNBEATEN

The dominance of the Alonso team is also reflected in the match stats: With 17 shots on goal, the Werkself had almost twice as many as Ferencváros who had nine attempts on Hradecky's goal. Leverkusen had their noses in front in terms of possession with 55%. The same applied to the pass completion rate, which was 87% for the visitors (Ferencváros: 85%). Only in terms of challenges did the Black and Reds have the lower rate at 44%.

Good news: With yesterday's win in the second leg of the Round of 16 (2-0) plus the victories against Hertha Berlin (4-1) and Werder Bremen (3-2), the Werkself have now clocked up their fourth win in succession across all competitions and are also unbeaten in six games.

WHAT THE PAPERS SAY: "STROLLS INTO THE QUARTER-FINALS"

The performance of the Alonso team was also recognised by the media. For example, the Rheinische Post headline reads, "Diaby and Adli help Bayer celebrate in Budapest" before adding: "The course of the game was almost ideal for the Rhinelanders." And the Express also praises Diaby's performance: "OMG-lightning fast-Diaby!" Bayer through after three minutes." The Leverkusener Anzeiger was also impressed as they wrote "A stroll in Budapest: Bayer easily reach the quarter-finals with a 2-0 win in Hungary." The paper also had a positive assessment of Diaby: "It was always dangerous when he was involved. He was the best Leverkusen player." The Bild Zeitung sums up the victory euphorically as follows: "Alonso strolls into the quarter-finals! Job done! Leverkusen and Xabi Alonso did not show any weakness in the second leg at Ferencváros and convincingly won in Hungary 2-0 as they did in the home game

OUTLOOK: RECORD CHAMPIONS VISIT THE BAYARENA

Lukas Hradecky and Co. do not have much time to rest: Following this morning's press conference, the flight from Budapest back home takes off in the afternoon. The Werkself have another training session tomorrow (Saturday). Then, on Sunday 19 March, the current league leaders and Xabi Alonso's former club visit the BayArena: Leverkusen entertain Bayern Munich at the BayArena on Bundesliga matchday 25. The kick-off in front of a full house is at 17.30 CET.