Bayer Leverkusen continues to roll up the field in the Bundesliga from behind. When Florian Wirtz returned to the starting XI after 318 days, the Werkself scored their fifth win in a row thanks to an assist from the national player in the 2-0 (1-0) win over VfL Bochum. As a result, Leverkusen are working their way up to eighth place after a catastrophic start to the season, and the European Cup ranks are back in sight faster than expected.
Edmond Tapsoba with a penalty kick (8th minute) and Adam Hlozek on a cross from Wirtz (52nd) scored the goals for Leverkusen. A series of three wins ended for Bochum. The Westphalians last had four successes in a row in 1980. At the end of the first half of the season, VfL slipped back down to the relegation zone.
It was quickly noticed by both teams that after a frustrating start they had recently had successful streaks. It quickly became clear who should be on the road to victory on Wednesday evening. Bayer’s winger Moussa Diaby was caught on the foot at the end of a solo by Keven Schlotterbeck. Although Leverkusen played the situation to the end and Hlozek failed due to VfL keeper Manuel Riemann, referee Timo Gerach from Landau in der Pfalz gave a penalty on his debut in the Bundesliga according to video evidence. The 36-year-old referee is not actually on the 24-name list of Bundesliga referees, but was given a chance as part of a model by referee boss Lutz-Michael Fröhlich. It was the eleventh penalty against Bochum this season.
And Wirtz?
Wirtz didn’t take the penalty just yet, but let Tapsoba have the ball. The Burkina Faso defender, previously a solid marksman in Portugal with nine goals in nine attempts in all competitions for Vitória Guimarães, smashed his first Bundesliga penalty unsustainably under the bar. The courageous and self-confident Bochum team almost scored the equalizer, but Takuma Asano, who has also been known in this country since the 2-1 victory at the World Cup in Qatar against Germany, initially failed at Bayer goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky, Piero Hincapié hit the ball in front of the line away. In the 13th minute, Leverkusen were already celebrating Diaby’s supposed 2-0 lead, but he was offside.
And Wirtz? The 19-year-old, who tore his cruciate ligament in March and made his first 15-minute appearance on Sunday in a 3-2 draw in Mönchengladbach, had a lot of freedom in central midfield. Initially, however, it was not involved again as before, and logically it also lacked the otherwise impressive self-image in its actions. Only one shot on goal, one assist and 21 ball contacts were in the statistics for him until the break.
But he was diligent, no other Leverkusen ran more. And slowly found its way into the game. Two minutes after the break he was still too timid with a chance to score, then he set up Hlozek’s goal with a sharp cross. When he was substituted after 71 minutes and 45 touches, the spectators rose and celebrated him.
