DThanks to the once again outstanding Leon Bailey, Bayer Leverkusen pushed the record champions off the top a week before the league hit against FC Bayern Munich. The Werkself defeated Hoffenheim 4: 1 (2: 0) on Sunday 1899 and took over the Bundesliga lead for the first time in more than six years after Munich’s 1-1 on Saturday at Union Berlin. Before the top game on Saturday against Bayern in their own stadium, Leverkusen still have to defend their lead in the English week in the Rhine derby at 1. FC Köln.
“I think the performance and the result make us very positive and give us a lot of energy for the final spurt before Christmas,” said Leverkusen’s Julian Baumgartlinger at Sky and added, referring to the table: “It’s a snapshot, but it’s also something value. We all know how difficult it is to move forward in this league. But there are still two thirds to play. “
Bailey scored in the sometimes thrilling duel of the Europa League group winners with a dream goal after a creative corner variant (4th minute) and as a ball thief after a catastrophic back pass from Hoffenheim’s striker Andrej Kramaric (27th). After the equally fantastic goal by Christoph Baumgartner (50th), U21 national player Florian Wirtz made it 3-1 (55th), before Lucas Alario scored the final score with a hand penalty (90th + 1). Hoffenheim’s Florian Grillitsch saw yellow-red (65th) – as did Stefan Posch (79th). The guests ended the duel with nine players.
For the first time since September 12, 2014, or exactly 2284 days, Bayer is in first place at the end of a game day. At that time it was the third, at a later point in time than now Leverkusen was last at the top in February 2010. With the future world champion Toni Kroos in midfield and Jupp Heynckes as coach. For Hoffenheim, who like Leverkusen won the group in the Europa League with 16 points, an upward trend ended after three games in a row without defeat. The team of coach Sebastian Hoeneß is in eleventh place after eleven match days.
Bayer’s storm to the top of the table almost got a severe setback early on. After 14 seconds Grillitsch came free in front of Bayer goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky to head the ball. In contrast to Monday against Augsburg, when he scored his first two Bundesliga goals after 996 days in a 3-1 draw, the Austrian didn’t score this time. Bayer took the lead early on, and that with a stroke of genius. After a brief corner with Nadiem Amiri, Bailey flicked the ball almost from the right flank into the far corner with an untenable left.
When celebrating the goal, the Jamaican sprinted towards co-coach Rob Maas. The former professional from Arminia Bielefeld, Hertha BSC and MSV Duisburg has been the assistant to his Dutch compatriot Peter Bosz in Leverkusen since summer and is responsible for the standards in this role and apparently had the idea for the variant. The horn concert afterwards around the BayArena was not a spontaneous action by cheering Bayer fans – it was a long-planned convoy of farmers with decorated tractors that took place at the same time.
From then on, the two strong teams always looked for the way forward, numerous opportunities on both sides were the result. The 2-0 result, however, from a blackout by Kramaric. Bailey sprinted in his 70-meter back pass to goalkeeper Oliver Baumann and pushed the ball in – his ninth goal in the past nine competitive games.
Baumgartner’s Schlenzer to 1: 2 made the game really open again. Baumgartner almost equalized for two minutes, but missed from seven meters. Bayer punished that and, after a nice filing by Schick, followed up through Wirtz.
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