The only two teams involved in the Bundesliga title race this season faced off at the BayArena in Leverkusen on Saturday, and neither managed to break the deadlock at any point between the first and the last whistle.
The teams
Each coach had three players missing from their respective ranks. For Leverkusen, it was Mario Hermoso, Martin Terrier and Jeanuel Belocian, and for Bayern, the unavailable ones were Alphonso Davies, Joao Palhinha and Daniel Peretz.
Usually deploying his team in a 3-5-2 system, Leverkusen head coach Xabi Alonso sacrificed a spot in midfield to boost his back line and chose a 4-4-2 this time. It was Nordi Mukiele who joined Jonathan Tah, Edmond Tapsoba and Piero Hincapie to form the line in front of goalkeeper Lukasz Hradecky. Granit Xhaka and Exequiel Palacios paired up in the middle of the park, flanked by Alejandro Grimaldo and Jeremie Frimpong, while Nathan Tella joined Florian Wirtz in attack.
Meanwhile, Vincent Kompany in the away dugout went with his usual 4-2-3-1 formation. With Manuel Neuer in goal, centre-backs Kim Min-jae and Dayot Upamecano had Konrad Laimer on the right, and in the absence of Davies, Hiroki Ito on the left. Young Aleksandar Pavlovic paired up with experienced Joshua Kimmich in the middle of the park, with Jamal Musiala as the No. 10, Kingsley Coman on the left wing, and Michael Olise on the right. The man playing furthest up was, of course, Harry Kane.
Brief recap
In what is gradually becoming a worrying trend for Bayern, the league leaders struggled to create clear chances against a well-matched opponent.
Leverkusen controlled the first half and were unlucky not to take the lead. Jeremie Frimpong hit the top of the bar in the 21st minute after a brilliant Florian Wirtz run led to a Manuel Neuer save. Just four minutes later, Nathan Tella also struck the bar, meeting a Pierro Hincapie cross but failing to direct his effort on target.
With Wirtz orchestrating play, Bayern were on the back foot throughout the first half, and a similar pattern emerged after the break as the home crowd grew louder. Tella had another opportunity in the 59th minute, but his acrobatic attempt flew wide.
In response, Vincent Kompany made four changes in the 68th minute, introducing Leon Goretzka, Josip Stanisic, Leroy Sane, and Serge Gnabry. However, the pressure from Leverkusen remained relentless, keeping Bayern pinned in their own half.
As the match entered the final stages – where Leverkusen have so often found late winners – Wirtz came close to stealing the show again, but his shot from close range drifted just wide of the post.
Stats indicative but ultimately pointless
Leverkusen’s domination in this top-of-the-table clash was not so clearly revealed by their possession percentage (56%), as by other parameters. Alonso’s team took a total of 15 shots, four of those blocked, eight going wide, and three on target, as opposed to the visitors, who fired only twice, failing to force Hradecky into a single save.
Further more, Leverkusen took six corners – not very notable at first glance, but huge compared to Bayern’s total of zero.
Table gap remains
The fact that Leverkusen were largely the better team in this game will only go to add to their frustration with its outcome. The gap between them and Bayern at the top remains eight points wide, and it could’ve been cut down to five with just a little bit of luck on their side.
However, it was Bayern who had most of the luck at the BayArena, and they will be thrilled to have gotten away with a point after such an underwhelming performance.
Third-place Eintracht are expected to beat bottom side Holstein Kiel in Frankfurt on Sunday without major problems, but even then they’ll be 13 points behind Bayern and five behind Leverkusen – hardly a candidate for the title.
Tasks ahead
Speaking of Eintracht, they’ll be traveling to Munich to face Bayern next week and it’s obviously another difficult challenge Kompany’s team must find a way to overcome if they intend to maintain the gap. But before they can start preparing for that match, the Bavarians need to confirm their place in the Champions League round of 16 by edging out Celtic at the Allianz Arena, having already beaten the Scottish side by 2-1 in Glasgow.
As for Leverkusen, their place in the round of 16 in the Champions League is secure, and now they can focus on making sure there are no surprises on their trip to Holstein Kiel next week. And then, it’ll be their turn to face Eintracht in Frankfurt.
Bayern increasingly likely to target Wirtz
Numerous reports over the last few months have suggested that Florian Wirtz will be a primary target in the transfer market for Bayern Munich, and this game clearly showed why.
The 21-year-old attacking midfielder controlled the game against Bayern with delightful ease, making it perfectly clear that his creativity and ability to direct play cannot be matched by anyone in Kompany’s squad. Musiala, perhaps even Pavlovic, have the potential to maybe get there one day – Musiala arguably sooner than Pavlovic – but they’re not there yet and Bayern, given the enormous expectations placed continuously on their shoulders, cannot afford the time to wait for that moment.
However, it remains to be seen if Bayern are able to sign Wirtz. While some media outlets in Germany claim he would be open to the idea of swapping the BayArena for the Allianz Arena, it should should be said that top Premier League clubs, namely Manchester City and Liverpool, are said to be holding an interest in his services as well. Even Real Madrid and Barcelona have been mentioned in that aspect. Staying at Leverkusen is obviously an option for the Germany international too, though this summer may be the last opportunity for the current Bundesliga champions to get his full value in the market as his contract expires in 2027.
At this point, Wirtz’s future remains delicately uncertain, but Bayern will surely do whatever they can to get him.
- Soccer News Like
- Be the first of your friends!
