Borussia battle to point with goalless draw in Leverkusen
Borussia earned a point away at leaders Bayer 04 Leverkusen on Matchday 19 of the Bundesliga. The game finished goalless.
In front of 30,200 spectators, including around 3,000 Borussia fans, at a sold-out BayArena in Leverkusen, the Foals were under huge pressure from the hosts from the get-go. While controlling the majority of possession, Leverkusen launched wave after wave of attacks. The Foals though stood firm at the back and thwarted a succession of Bayer chances as a unit. As the game went on, Borussia managed to mount their own attacks and break free more and more from Leverkusen’s dominance. Although Leverkusen continued to have the lion’s share of possession after the break, the Foals played far more courageously than at the start of the first half. They could not though find a goal before the end. Because they handled their defensive task efficiently and doggedly though, it finished goalless in Leverkusen.
TEAM NEWS
Borussia head coach Gerardo Seoane made two changes to the team that lost 2-1 at home to FC Augsburg in the previous match. Julian Weigl returned to the starting eleven after suspension, replacing Rocco Reitz. Florian Neuhaus also came in for the injured Alassane Plea. Joe Scally, Marvin Friedrich, Nico Elvedi and Luca Netz again made up the back four in front of goalkeeper Moritz Nicolas. Weigl featured in defensive midfield alongside Manu Koné and Florian Neuhaus. Franck Honorat, Robin Hack and Jordan made up the attack.
Alassane Plea (foot injury), Tomáš Čvančara (ankle ligament tear), Jonas Omlin (recovering from a shoulder operation), Lukas Ullrich (back in training) and Max Wöber (recovery training) missed out due to injury. Patrick Herrmann also had to drop out late on due to knee problems. Ko Itakura was also unavailable because of his participation in the Asian Cup. Shio Fukuda meanwhile featured in a competitive squad for the Foals for the first time and made his Bundesliga debut in the final phases.
FIRST HALF HIGHLIGHTS
5’: First big chance for the hosts. The ball comes to Amiri, who lets fly from the edge of the penalty area. Nicolas has to stretch to just tip the ball over the bar with his fingertips.
22’: First big chance for Borussia. Neuhaus finds Netz in the penalty area. The Germany U21 international has a lot of space but just takes a little bit too long, allowing Kovář the chance to save.
23’: At the other end, Xhaka and Schick drive forward quickly and play in Wirtz in a promising position. The senior Germany international’s effort is superbly foiled by the leg of Nicolas.
SECOND HALF HIGHLIGHTS
57’: Wirtz plays it to Frimpong on the left, who shoots. The ball though goes well wide of the post.
61’: What a recovery from Neuhaus! Frimpong runs through on Nicolas’ goal, but Neuhaus sprints back and wins the ball with an inch-perfect sliding tackle.
STATISTICS
Leverkusen: Kovar – Stanisic, Andrich, Hincapie – Amiri (Tella 68’), Xhaka, Frimpong, Grimaldo, Hofmann (Hlozek 84’), Wirtz – Schick // Unused substitutes: Hradecky, Fosu-Mensah, Münz, Mbamba, Puerta, Izekor, Onyeka
Borussia: Nicolas, Scally, Friedrich, Elvedi, Netz, Weigl, Koné (Kramer 79’), Neuhaus (Ngoumou 79’), Honorat (Lainer 70’), Hack (Reitz 62’), Jordan (Fukuda 79’) // Unused substitutes: Olschowsky, Chiarodia, Jantschke, Ngoumou, Kramer, Ranos
Goals: none
Yellow cards: Xhaka, Schick, Stanisic – Weigl
Attendance: 30,200 (BayArena)
Referee: Deniz Aytekin (Oberasbach)
