Bayer crushed the opponent with two quick goals.
The “Pharmacists” and Dortmund opened the Bundesliga round of 16 in style – five goals in the match and a very nervous victory for Bayer. Let’s look at the details of the fight.
“Pharmacists” with Wirtz on the bench
Xabi Alonso approached the match with Borussia cautiously. This is what he said the day before:
It’s a big match for us. Playing the first match of the year in Dortmund is motivating. Everyone sees that Borussia is developing under Shahin’s leadership, they are very strong on their home field, this applies not only to team interactions, but also to individual play. We have to play a perfect game if we want to win.
Apparently this is linked to the changes made by the Spaniard. Instead of the usual 3-4-2-1 formation, Leverkusen chose 4-4-2. Andrich came out in midfield in place of Palacios, but the main change was that Florian Wirtz remained on the bench. The German has found courage in recent games, but in a pattern with two attackers, Alonso chose to release Tella and Schick in attack. As the game showed, I was right.
Took advantage of owners’ personnel problems
Borussia entered the round of 16 in a terrible state. The team is not in the championship race and even its entry into the Champions League is uncertain (more on that later). A very important detail in the “black and yellow” situation is the injury epidemic. She “mowed” literally the entire center of defense, Nuri Sahin was left without specialized central defenders: Schlotterbeck, Anton, Sule, Mane are being restored. They sent specialist right-backs Rierson and Yannick Luhrs against Bayer. The last one was removed from the socket.
This resulted in complete desynchronization during defense. The “Pharmacists” found a free corridor already in the 20th second – Rierson lost his position, Tella found himself completely alone in a deadly position. And he hit the air hard. In the eighth minute, the “bumblebees” committed another failure. Leverkusen came up against a counter-attack, Schick headed unmarked towards the far post and took in a cross from Incapiere. Two goals so quick that Borussia seemed eliminated.
A fiery first half
Shahin’s Borussia are sometimes extremely interesting in attack, but more often than not they are absolutely hopeless in defense, and a similar imbalance applies to Bayer. The German champions play themselves and let their opponents play. Also, yesterday they played in an unusual formation. Dortmund therefore quickly had a chance to come back. In the 12th minute, Yan Couto walked freely down the flank and crossed to the center of the penalty area. Bynoe-Gittens stepped up to the rebound and managed to throw it over the goalie from a tight angle.
Before the break, many things happened: the “pharmacists” further increased their lead, Bynoe-Gittens found himself in a killer position and almost earned a penalty, Adeyemi shot from close range from the penalty line and Bayer went to finish, Schick fell in the Borussia penalty area after a corner (received a yellow card while calling for a penalty). So the scoreboard could have shown both 3:3 and 4:3 – no one would have been surprised.
Chic Profit
Three goals were enough for Bayer to take three points from Dortmund, even if the end was rather nervous. And much of the credit for this important victory goes to Patrick Schick. The Czech produces an overperformance in a specific match and over the course of several matches, and his spell is incredible. The striker has had two difficult seasons at Leverkusen. After the success of the 21/22 championship (24 goals in 27 games, top scorer title), he suffered from injuries, in November 2022 and missed the entire winter due to adductor muscle damage, in the spring he fell with a torn abductor muscle and did not play for eight months. In the 23/24 season he only returned in December, but could not find his old form, then Boniface and Wirtz shone. In April, the striker had already been retired from football.
It was only during the current campaign that Patrick had the chance to return – now Victor found himself in the infirmary. At this precise moment, the Czech drew his weapon. In five Bundesliga matches after the Nigerian’s injury, Schick scored 10 goals: a hat-trick against Heidenheim, a poker game against Freiburg and a goal against Union. Now a double against Borussia.
Bayern have a dangerous rival again
For “pharmacists”, this situation is only a plus. The team, even after losing the main scorer, gets another one and does not seem to realize the leader’s injury. Chic’s outperformance adds to an impressive six-game championship winning streak. Leverkusen therefore made a breakthrough. Leipzig collapsed, Eintracht lacked experience, even Bayern drew with Borussia and lost to Mainz during this period.
“Pharmacists” occupy second place. After the victory, only one point separates them from the Munich team (Bayern will play the round of 16 match today). Kompany’s team has no chance of making a mistake: Bayer are on fire and ready to regain the lead.
The Bumblebee Dilemma
A new project is being built at Borussia, and it will take a long time. Nuri Sahin was asked to restart and sports director Sebastian Kehl was recently renewed. But the club finds itself at a crossroads at the end of the first round – it is unclear whether this restructuring will lead to anything clear. The club trusted its former footballer, but he has no coaching experience at the highest level.
And the team plays accordingly – unstable. In high-level matches it can start well, but the coach’s intervention destroys the structure of the game (a hint of defeat against Real Madrid). Or vice versa – they will start to feel bad, and then they will run to save the day. Against Bayer, even with 0:2, Borussia did not look desperate and could already make comparisons in the first half. But Dortmund himself made mistakes and gave the guests goals. By the way, we must not forget about the injuries to the defenders.
In short, there are too many “buts” in this equation. The decision regarding the coach is a way of clarifying. Maybe you just need to believe in Shahin. Difficult beginnings will strengthen the German’s character and teach him pragmatism.
About the Author
