Werkself review #QARB04: Undaunted morale rings late reward

Summary: Comeback in second half

With eight changes from the line-up in the 2-0 derby win in Cologne, the Werkself faced a confident and attacking home side in pouring rain in Baku. Abdellah Zoubir went close to giving Qarabag the lead on 26 minutes when he hit the post but Yassine Benzia found the back of the Werkself net a minute later. Juninho made it 2-0 for the serial champions of Azerbaijan in added time at the end of the first half. Jeremie Frimpong came on at the start of the second 45 and he was followed later by Granit Xhaka, Granit Xhaka and Patrik Schick. And head coach Xabi Alonso once again demonstrated his ability in making substitutions: Wirtz pulled a goal back with an impressive lob on 70 minutes and Schick levelled with a header in added time for the final score of 2-2. The match report.

Reaction: "We showed pride and courage"

Xabi Alonso summed up the game at the post-match press conference as follows: "Qarabag played well in the first half and we had problems in attack and defence. Half-time was not an easy moment. It wasn't a Bundesliga match but a knockout game. We had to be intelligent. We changed things a bit but also upped our work rate and we showed pride and courage. We came out of the bad moment and showed we could play better – with more control and stability. The result is okay for us. We still have the second leg at home." Looking forward to next week's return match, the Spaniard added: "Now there's everything to play for and we'll see what happens."

Jonathan Tah summed up proceedings after the final whistle: "We knew about Qarabag’s strengths but we couldn't get a grip in the first half. We changed things around in the second half and showed what we can do on the pitch. We’ve had a lot of games where the substitutes have done brilliantly. But, of course, Flo and Granit are players who can make the difference and help us at any time."

What the papers say: "Leverkusen's last-minute madness"

The Bild headline reads "Leverkusen's last-minute madness: Schick rescues Alonso's mega run" and added: "Qarabag presented the Werkself with big problems and led 2-0 after a strong first half against a Leverkusen B team. Bayer showed a different side after the restart and upped the pressure with the introduction of Xhaka and Wirtz." The kicker reports: "The nimbus is still standing. The Werkself made a lot of errors in the first half: Wirtz with a lob, Schick with his head: substitutes salvage a draw for Bayer 04 at Qarabag." And the report in the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger reads: "The substitutes Wirtz and Schick saved the Bundesliga club from a first defeat in 35 games this season in a cold and wet lion's den in Baku."

Personnel: With passion and commitment - on and off the pitch

A show of unity was demonstrated after the final whistle as all the Werkself players gave their shirts away to the away section containing the 420 travelling Bayer 04 fans. The background: The players heard about the difficult journey for fans after a mechanical defect with the fan charter flight. The players wanted to show their gratitude in this way and express their recognition of what the fans had done to be at the furthest away game in Europe in the club's history. Around 30 minutes before kick-off, honorary captain and club representative Stefan Kießling welcomed the travelling Werkself fans in the away section. "It's great you are here to support the team. Thank you for making this long journey," said Kies.

In terms of team news, it is worth highlighting the return to the starting XI of Exequiel Palacios after recovering from a muscular injury and also goal number 100 for Bayer 04 this season that Wirtz scored to make it 2-1.

Stats: All good things are Schick

Qarabag had twelve shots at the goal minded byMatej Kovar and the Werkself had ten attempts. One who tried and scored his third goal in the competition was Schick – the striker has found the back of the net in each of the last three games in the UEFA Europa League. In terms of possession, Leverkusen were on top with 66% and they also had a pass completion rate of 89% (Qarabag: 77%). The Black and Reds won 47% of duels – giving Qarabag a slight advantage.

Bayer 04 are unbeaten in the last eight matches in the Europa League – the longest run without defeat since November 2018 to August 2020 (nine wins).

Outlook: Two home games coming up

Bayer 04 now go into another busy run of fixtures. The schedule is as follows: Leverkusen fly back to Cologne on Friday, 8 March. After a closed training session tomorrow, the Werkself entertain VfL Wolfsburg at the BayArena on Bundesliga Matchday 25 on Sunday, 10 March (kick-off: 19.30 CET). That is followed four days later on Thursday, 14 March (kick-off: 21.00 CET) by the visit of Qarabag to Leverkusen for the second leg in the Europa League Round of 16.