Papa Alonso is a guest for the first time
Wirtz and Bayer conjure up magic on an evening of great emotions
October 26, 2023, 10:53 p.m
Bayer Leverkusen continues to go from win to win in the Europa League. At the football festival against Karabakh Agdam, national player Florian Wirtz was involved in the first four goals. For the first time in 22 years, Bayer starts a European Cup season with three wins.
Coach Xabi Alonso also celebrated a football festival and a furious victory on his father’s first visit to Leverkusen. Led by the outstanding national player Florian Wirtz, Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen defeated Karabakh Agdam, who had also won twice at the start, 5-1 (3-1). With another win in two weeks at Agdam in Azerbaijan, last year’s semi-finalists would make it into the knockout round of the Europa League after just four of six games. “5-1 sounds good – but we could have scored one or two more goals. It was really fun, there was a certain amount of joy in the game at the end,” said captain Robert Andrich on RTL: “Hopefully the series stays. “
For the first time in 22 years, Bayer started a European Cup season with three wins. The only time so far in the 2001/02 season, the Rhinelanders reached the final of the Champions League. The emotional evening was made perfect by the comeback of goalscorer Patrik Schick, who came on as a substitute in the 62nd minute, making his first appearance in 231 days. Alonso’s father “Perico” Alonso, once a professional at FC Barcelona and a regular player for Spain at the home World Cup in 1982, arrived in Germany on Monday and watched a game at the BayArena for the first time together with Xabi’s brother Jon. They saw Leverkusen’s eleventh win in their twelfth competitive game this season, their seventh in a row. And what a!
A thoroughly rotated Bayer team is having a blast
National player Wirtz had conceded Karabakh’s first goal in the current competition in the 4th minute. The Azerbaijanis equalized after Granit Xhaka was blacked out by Tural Bajramow (16th). with a penalty kick. Alejandro Grimaldo (29th), Victor Boniface (35th) and again Grimaldo (54th), all on an assist or lay-off from Wirtz, made it 4-1. Edmond Tapsoba (57th) went one better.
The Bayer team, which had changed in six positions, set an example right from the start. After 31 seconds, Grimaldo shot just past the right from 18 meters, and three minutes later he set up Wirtz to make it 1-0. His assist was deflected and the 20-year-old converted it from ten meters with his left turn into the right corner. Of all people, Xhaka, who had been virtually flawless so far this season, made a hair-raising mistake when he ran with the ball towards his own goal, tripped it and had to foul Juninho. The penalty caused the equalizer.
But he didn’t upset Leverkusen. Amine Adli first hit the crossbar (23′), Xhaka’s header from the following corner was hit off the line and then Bayer soon led again. Wirtz thanked Grimaldo for the assist after a solo pass to make it 1-0 and the Spaniard scored. Boniface, who had previously missed three good chances within a few minutes, increased the score with a shot from 20 meters into the corner. The atmosphere in the BayArena was the kind you wouldn’t have thought possible in a Europa League preliminary round game months ago. And she improved more and more thanks to the goals in the second half and Schick’s substitution.