Bundesliga leaders Bayer 04 Leverkusen provided renewed confirmation of their invulnerability on Saturday. Despite falling behind twice at RB Leipzig, coach Xabi Alonso’s team not only remained unbeaten after the 18th matchday – they defeated the Saxons 3-2. As in the previous week in Augsburg, Leverkusen scored their winning goal in stoppage time, this time with a goal from central defender Piero Hincapie.
The lead over second-placed FC Bayern on Saturday evening was seven points. This means that Leverkusen were able to avert the danger of losing the league lead to their pursuers from Munich in the middle of the week. FC Bayern welcomes SV Werder Bremen on Sunday and 1. FC Union Berlin on Wednesday for a catch-up game. And these are two games in which Toto tipsters should definitely bet on home wins for Munich.
The win against Leipzig was all the more significant because RB played perhaps its best game in the first half since the Supercup victory at FC Bayern. Leverkusen made it clear at the start of the game that they wanted to play dominantly – but that soon turned out to be a classic mirage in the icy Saxony.
After just five minutes there was the first commotion in the penalty area, and two minutes later Leverkusen’s central defender Jonathan Tah showed that he was not yet in the game. One or two wobbles were enough for Leipzig center forward Benjamin Sesko, who had shown a significant improvement compared to the previous week, to take Tah out of the game on the left side. This was followed by a pass to Xaver Schlager and a velvet cross to Xavi, who drew a work of art on the grass. With a lob and a turn around his own axis, he turned Florian Wirtz and Alejandro Grimaldo into staffage – and shot the ball into the goal with a dropkick next to the right post to take the lead.
Piero Hincapie pushes the ball over the line to make it 3-2.
(Photo: Annegret Hilse/Reuters)
What followed were minutes of clever pressure from Leipzig. It was clear from the quality of their game that Dani Olmo was in the starting line-up for the first time in 139 days – and with some scenes he also recalled the Supercup victory. Leipzig remained dangerous: Sesko put a cross from Olmo just wide of the goal, Lukas Hradecky parried a powerful shot from Mohamed Simakan, and Lois Openda called for a penalty twice.
Leverkusen tried to get into the game calmly, but had so many problems with Leipzig’s aggressive and compact defense that they only had one opportunity to score when Grimaldo shot at goal from ten meters with his left and found his match in goalkeeper Janis Blaswich (17. ). Further problems arose when Xabi Alonso suffered another injury. The right rail player Jeremie Frimpong had to be substituted after a collision with David Raum (31st) – and was replaced by Nathan Tella.
The goal is also an expression of Leverkusen’s belief in their own strength
After the break, a very good Bundesliga game turned into a daring, passionate game. Less than a minute and a half after the restart, Leverkusen equalized with a goal that, due to its design, brought back memories of the goal that Leipzig had conceded against Eintracht Frankfurt the previous week. This time it was Grimaldo who produced a sharp cross from the left, Tella finished from close range to make it 1-1.
After Florian Wirtz failed at Blaswich, something happened that made people sit up and take notice. Bayer 04 conceded a counterattack goal for the first time this season. Following a corner from Leverkusen, Xavi Simons and Olmo drew a counter-attack onto the pitch with precise passes that no technical draftsman could have put on paper more precisely: the completion fell to Openda, who gave Hradecky no chance (56th). But: This joy didn’t last long either. In the 63rd minute, Tah headed Jonas Hofmann’s corner kick from four meters into the goal to make it 2-2.
A little later, Leipzig’s coach Marco Rose made a change: he took Olmo, Sesko and Simakan off the field, and later also Xavi Simons. The Leverkusen team then dominated – and won: thanks to the Ecuadorian Hincapie, who pushed a corner from Grimaldo over the line at the second post. It was a deserved victory that says a lot about the belief that the Leverkusen team has in their own abilities. “If we win the games like that, we’ll of course be happy to accept it,” said Hofmann about another late winning goal. What sets the team apart? “The mentality, the team spirit, the hunger to never give up a game,” said Tah.