Of course, the message that Bayer Leverkusen sent at the exact moment the game against Borussia Mönchengladbach was whistled was not a reaction to the events of that evening. But somehow the news fit quite well with this 0-0, in a game in which Bayer Leverkusen didn’t score a goal for the first time this season: the Bundesliga leaders have loaned striker Borjas Iglesias from Betis Sevilla until the end of the season, and that’s it very necessary.
After all, they really want to become German champions, which is still quite possible. The Gladbach midfielder Florian Neuhaus also said after this game: “I can’t remember playing against such a good team recently.” But coach Xabi Alonso’s team is currently missing players who can turn their footballing brilliance into goals .
Missing players
Defensive players had already scored in the happy victories in Augsburg and Leipzig; two of the four goals in 2024 came from corners. Bayer had 69 ball actions in the opponent’s penalty area, according to the statisticians from the TV channel Sky; such a high number has never been seen in a Bundesliga game since the data was collected.
“Today he could have helped us a lot, he is a typical striker, good in the penalty area, intelligent, I am very happy that he is with us,” said Alonso about the 31-year-old former Spanish international Iglesias and sports director Simon Rolfes explained: “Against a team that is so deep, you have to take advantage of the few chances you have with the utmost determination and ice coldness.” But Victor Boniface is injured and Patrik Schick is out of shape.
However, even without goals, the audience saw an intense, entertaining and exciting football game. Mönchengladbach defended with passion, while Leverkusen worked dedicatedly but unsuccessfully for a goal of their own. “That’s part of the game. Keep going,” said Granit Xhaka, who remarked: “Anyone who thinks we will win 17 games in the second half of the season is wrong in my opinion. Such a marathon season. We played a good game, there were little things missing.”
Somewhat surprisingly, Alonso promoted goalkeeper Matej Kovar to the starting line-up and placed Lukas Hradecky, the actual number one, on the bench. “Because they both play at a top level,” was the reason given by the coach, who had already put Kovar in the cup competitions during the first half of the season. Now that the time for the English weeks is approaching, he obviously wanted to give the young Czech some match practice again, but he didn’t have much to do with it.
The Werkself’s style of play was impressive again this evening. The positional play was good, the ball moved, and the Leverkusen team played more than 500 passes in the first half alone. The counter-pressing also worked, but because Mönchengladbach never lost their desire to defend, the game became a real challenge for Bayer 04. “Compliments for this disciplined performance, this point is absolutely positive,” said Gladbach coach Gerardo Seoane, whose team not only won a surprising point with this show of strength against the ball, but also prepared well for the game at FC Bayern next weekend.
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Initially, only long-range shots from Nadiem Amiri (5th) and Florian Wirtz (19th) were dangerous, and Wirtz also had the best opportunity before the break: after winning the ball in the Gladbach penalty area, the young national player was completely free to finish from eight meters, but goalkeeper Moritz Nicolas hit (23′). In between, Gladbach also created a few dangerous opportunities (Netz 22nd, Koné 32nd), but Bayer Leverkusen were clearly the better team and after around an hour, the enormous dominance resulted in increasingly dangerous penalty area scenes.
But the shots from Alejandro Grimaldo (60th) and especially Jeremie Frimpong (57th, 60th, 61st) lacked efficiency that evening. “It’s a performance we can learn from,” said Alonso. “We stay positive, we have good energy.” And they now also have a new striker.
