Bayer 04 Women lose 1-0 at home to Hoffenheim

Pätzold made two changes to his starting XI compared with the 2-1 derby win against FC Köln. Estrella Merino Gonzalez (muscle injury) and Caroline Kehrer made way for Juliette Vidal and, for the first time in the new year, Cornelia Kramer. While Vidal moved to left-back, Carlotta Wamser played at right-back this time.

early lead for TSG from penalty spot

The Werkself made a classic false start to the game. During TSG's first action in the penalty area, Jill Janssens went down after a challenge from Vidal and referee Franziska Wildfeuer immediately pointed to the spot. Selina Cerci converted the penalty with ease (2’). Now with twelve goals for the season, the Hoffenheim player moves level with Werkself striker Vanessa Fudalla as the top goalscorer in the Bundesliga. Bayer 04 were not deterred by the early setback. Sofie Zdebel, who had scored her first goal of the season last weekend against FC Köln, broke into the six-yard box and hit the post (10’). After that, the tempo remained high on both sides, but not much happened in front of the two goals at first due to a lack of precision in a lot of actions on the final third. Fudalla's first shot just after the half-hour mark flew well over the target.

TSG, who suffered a surprisingly heavy 4-0 defeat against Hamburger SV last weekend, hardly gave anything away in defence and won a number of balls through aggressive pressing. The scoreline remained 1-0 going into half-time. After the break, the Werkself started on the front foot. Fudalla put Wamser through in a counter-attack but her shot also went over the bar (47'). Three minutes later, Kramer failed to beat TSG goalkeeper Laura Dick. While chances were few and far between before the break, the opportunities now became more and more frequent: Following a corner, substitute Janna Grimm just failed to make it 2-0 for Hoffenheim with a shot that hit the outside of the left-hand post (52').

Leverkusen pressure

Shortly after that, a looping header from Kristin Kögel was goalward bound but Dick reacted quickly to make the save. The action continued almost by the minute - and Kramer did better. Put through by Kögel, the Denmark international ran at Dick and smashed the ball against the underside of the crossbar only to see it bounce back into the box (56'). With half an hour to play, Pätzold made his first changes with a double substitution. Ruby Grant and Valentina Mädl replaced Katharina Piljic and Kramer. After that phase of Leverkusen pressure, the action calmed down somewhat and the TSG defence was now more solid again.

The next attempt on goal came with 15 minutes to play. Fudalla curled the ball over the goal from 14 metres out. A short time later, there was an attack down the right flank but the shot from Wamser was easily dealt with by Dick. In the final minutes, the Black and Reds continued to attack relentlessly, with Melissa Friedrich (on for Kögel) also coming into the game to provide additional presence in attack. One minute before the end of normal time, the centre-back narrowly failed to connect with a whipped-in cross. The home side could not level before the final whistle.

next up: international break then clash in Wolfsburg on 15 march

Following the post-match meeting and the recovery session on Monday, Pätzold will give his team a week off from training before the international break. On Sunday, 15 March (18:30 CET), Leverkusen are away to VfL Wolfsburg at the end of matchday 20. The team will play in the Bayer 04 '50 years of fan clubs' special edition kit.

Match stats:

Bayer 04: Borggräfe - Wamser, Ostermeier, Turanyi, Vidal - Piljic (Grant 62’), Zdebel - Bender, Kögel (Friedrich 84’) - Kramer (Mädl 62’), Fudalla

TSG Hoffenheim: Dick - Douma, Diehm, Doorn - Harsch (Grimm 46’) - Janssens (Kaut 64’), Gloning, Ampoorter (Steiner 64’), Hahn (Grabowska 73’) - van Dijk, Cerci (Alp 88’)

Goals: 0-1 Cerci (2’ pen.)

Yellow cards: - Hahn, Amporter, Steiner

Referee: Franziska Wildfeuer (Lützen)

Attendance: 782 at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium