Xabi Alonso's Bayer 04 Leverkusen have furnished an impressive response to their loss to Leipzig with a 4-1 win over Pellegrino Matarazzo's Kraichgauer at the PreZero Arena. Nigerian striker Victor Boniface netted two goals and registered an assist in the victory. Germany's red company team rather easily shook off an attempted comeback from the Kraichgauer, who attempted to replicate their performance from the last time Leverkusen visited Sinsheim. In the end, The defending champs prevailed comfortably.
Xabi made three changes to the team that saw its record league unbeaten run snapped against Leipzig just prior to the international break. Lukas Hradecky returned to take his place in-between the sticks. In the outfield, Robert Andrich and Nathan Tella took over for Aleix Garcia and the not-yet-ready Jeremie Frimpong. Die Werkself maintained their 3-4-3 shape.
Injuries forced TSG trainer Matarazzo to make two changes to the XI that lost to Frankfurt two weeks ago. Grischa Prömel (ACL rupture) and Adam Hlozek (thigh problems) were unavailable. Florian Grillitsch replaced Prömel while Mërgim Berisha - in his very first start for Hoffenheim due to the ACL tear he suffered last season - supplanted the ex-Leverkusener Hlozek. The Sinsheimers shifted to a 3-4-1-2.
Leverkusen's Control
The defending champs were keen to begin proceedings on the front foot, yet were frustrated by the TSG defensive set-up. Grillitsch anchored the back-three well with Dennis Geiger and Anton Stach hanging back as defensive sixes. The dominant Westphalian guests rarely found a way through and were often caught offside whenever they did. TSG counters remained choppy and ineffectively timed as well.
Boniface Sparks Leverkusen
The match suddenly spring to life in the 17th when B04 striker Boniface punched through on the half-right and set up Martin Terrier for the 1-0. The play appeared to be rendered redundant by the offside flag, but a VAR review allowed the tally to stand. After taking the lead, however, Leverkusen continued to struggle with Matarazzo's offside trap.
Kraichgauer keeper Oliver Baumann prevented the 2-0 in the 28th with a strong parry of a Boniface effort. Boniface narrowly missed with another header seconds later. Finally, with his third chance in as many minutes, the Nigerian striker powered home the 2-0 at the half-hour mark after dusting off a loose marking Alexander Prass on the right side of the box.
Hoffenheim Finds a Way Back
Very much against the run-of-play, Hoffenheim were able to pull a goal back in the 37th. Kramaric set up debutant Berisha for the 1-2 on a play that featured some loose marking from Piero Hincapie. Berisha thought he had bagged a brace seconds later, but was ruled well offside on the supposed 2-2. Boniface and Florian Wirtz came close to restoring the tow-goal-cushion before the half was out.
Leverkusen Dominates the Second Half
After a decidedly sleepy start to the second half, the defending Bundesliga champions opted to wake up two minutes shy of the hour-mark. A triple chance from Andrich, Boniface, and Terrier in the 58th somehow failed to produce a goal. Boniface again missed a close-range header in the 67th. At long last, the 3-1 came from the spot in the 72nd. Wirtz converted a penalty following a Geiger foul on Grimaldo in the area.
Boniface placed the lid on proceedings with a superb finish from the half-left in the 75th. Not much transpired after the 4-1, though TSG sub Jacob Braun Larsen generated a pair of chances in a lively performance off the bench. For the most part, however, the match wrapped up in an uneventful, sovereign, and composed fashion.
Other Bundesliga Action
Elsewhere in the Bundesliga's 15:30 kickoffs, 2023/24 Bundesliga runners-up VfB Stuttgart were finally able to secure their first league win of the new season. Sebastian Hoeneß' Swabians took all three points from their trip to Gladbach. VfB striker Deniz Undav scored his first goal of the new campaign while marquee new summer addition Ermedin Demirovic added a scorer's brace in the 3-1 victory.
Two other teams won their fixtures via 2-1 scorelines that featured scorer's braces from key players. Freiburg pulled out a home 2-1 victory over Bochum thanks to a blitz brace from striker Junior Adamu. Frankfurt also took out Wolfsburg with a 2-1 win at the Volkswagen Arena. SGE striker Omar Marmoush notched two tallies against his former club.
In a rather significant development at the Red Bull Arena, RB Leipzig were unable to score a goal against visiting 1. FC Union Berlin. RB striker Loïs Openda failed against FCU keeper Frederik Rønnow from the spot. Rønnow ensured that the German Red Bulls were held to a 0-0 draw. The underdog guests even enjoyed the better share of chances down the stretch.
