Robert Andrich was delighted to get his first start of the new season, but reflected: “We often gave the Slovenians too much space today; there’s still room for improvement.” Nevertheless, the 31-year-old stressed: “We’ve got our first three points – that’s the most important thing!”
The victory was also hugely significant for Moussa Diaby: “The three points are extremely important for going into this competition with confidence. It wasn’t an easy match, but that’s the Europa League for you.” It was the Frenchman's first start in front of his home crowd since his return to the club: “I was really delighted to be back in the starting XI at home in front of these wonderful fans.”
What the papers say: "Dominant Werkself" with a "world-class" goalkeeper
kicker magazine described a “technically superior Werkself” who had “got off to a winning start in the Europa League”, whilst the Bild newspaper hailed goalscorer Medina as Leverkusen’s “saviour”. Meanwhile, in its individual player ratings, the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger saw Flekken in that role, noting that he “made a good save against Verbic, then a world-class save from Seslar’s header”.
Personnel: Medina feeling right at home
The Argentine ‘saviour’ scored again in his second match for Bayer 04 in front of his home crowd – and that as a defender. It seems someone is feeling right at home at the BayArena. Terrier, too, must have been delighted to finally start a game again for Leverkusen. After all, the Frenchman’s last start for the Black and Reds to date came on 17 March this year. Who set up both Medina’s and Terrier’s goals? Playmaker Garcia, of course. The midfield strategist took control of the match in the first half, was directly involved in seven of Leverkusen’s 12 attempts on goal and also recorded the most touches (73).
Meanwhile, Eliesse Ben Seghir made his first appearance on the pitch this season, marking his comeback from injury against the Slovenians. Welcome back, Eli!
