Landmark victory instead of fiasco
Bayer 04 saves themselves the anger of the relegation fighters
May 12, 2024, 9:29 p.m
Bayer Leverkusen are far from setting off fireworks on the 33rd matchday of the Bundesliga, but a confident performance is enough for the German champions to beat VfL Bochum. And in the end it becomes clear. This also saves you the trouble that you have in Dortmund.
The record series continues: Bayer Leverkusen remained unbeaten even at the site of their last defeat and has extended their magical series to 50 competitive games without defeat. At the end of the 33rd matchday of the Bundesliga on Sunday evening, the new German champions won 5-0 (2-0) against VfL Bochum, who were decimated early on, and are therefore on the verge of becoming the first team in Bundesliga history to march through a season without defeat .
If Bayer doesn’t lose at the end of the season against FC Augsburg, coach Xabi Alonso’s team will make their unique season perfect. In Bochum, Leverkusen’s team was helped by an early dismissal for Bochum’s Felix Passlack (15th/emergency brake). Patrik Schick (41′), Victor Boniface (45’+2), Amine Adli (76′), Josip Stanisic (86′) and Alejandro Grimaldo (90’+3) then scored the goals for Bayer.
Meanwhile, VfL has to continue to worry about staying in the league. If Bochum loses on the final day of the match, they could slip into the relegation zone. Nevertheless, the Revierklub still has everything in its own hands. A point in the final game at Werder Bremen would be enough to be in the first division next season.
Compared to the 2-2 draw in the semi-final second leg of the Europa League against AS Roma on Thursday, Xabi Alonso rotated vigorously in Bochum, as expected. The Spaniard made eight changes to his starting line-up, with the injured Florian Wirtz and Adam Hlozek completely rested. Boniface and Schick started together in attack for the first time this Bundesliga season.
Unlike Champions League finalist Borussia Dortmund, who provoked serious accusations of distortion of competition on Saturday with a desolate performance against 1. FSV Mainz 05 and took harsh measures against themselves, the German champions delivered a performance that one could expect. VfL Bochum had smugly commented on BVB national player Nico Schlotterbeck’s promises to Bochum that they would “give 110 percent” in Mainz after Dortmund’s oath of disclosure in Mainz with “Stay positive: at least we didn’t have to send a ‘thank you’ anywhere today.”
The initial phase belonged to the frenetically cheered Bochum team. Takuma Asano (8th), who returned to the starting line-up after recovering, and Philipp Hofmann (11th) narrowly missed the goal. The red card then made the Bochum team much more defensive. The hosts initially managed to keep Leverkusen away from their own goal.
Leverkusen gradually worked their way up. Granit Xhaka (30th) flicked a long-range shot onto the crossbar. The next chance came. Schick took a cross from Arthur at the penalty spot and took the lead. A little later, Keven Schlotterbeck ran into Nathan Tella’s heels in his own penalty area. Boniface converted the subsequent penalty to make the score 2-0 at halftime.
After the break, VfL keeper Manuel Riemann (50′) prevented Schick’s second goal with a strong save. Boniface’s brace was prevented by the post a little later (59′). Despite the increasingly exhausted Bochum team, things became very clear afterwards.