Leverkusen shoots VfB towards relegation Bayer Leverkusen is on course for the Champions League with the 4-2 win against VfB Stuttgart, the Swabians’ situation is getting worse.
The high-flyers from Bayer Leverkusen around youngster Florian Wirtz were duly celebrated by their fans in the BayArena on a lap of honor. The thrilling 4:2 (1:0) against Kellerkind VfB Stuttgart, the fourth win in a row, put third in the table in the fight for the premier class seven points ahead of the Europa League places and exacerbated Stuttgart’s serious relegation worries.
“We play good football, we continue to step on the gas, it’s incredibly fun with the team,” said Wirtz on the Sky microphone, “that’s how we want to continue.” In addition to the extremely strong Wirtz (85th), winger Moussa Diaby (41st) met. , Amine Adli (52nd) and Patrik Schick (89th) for the enthusiastic hosts.
On the other side, bowed heads underscored the extremely precarious situation in the penultimate table from Stuttgart, who have been waiting for a win for seven games. The brace from newcomer Tiago Tomas (49th/88th) was not enough for a real revolt. “We won’t let ourselves down. Of course we know about the situation, but we remain steadfast to the end,” said Chris Führich.
Bayer were able to fall back on goalkeeper and captain Lukas Hradecky on Saturday evening after surviving the COVID-19 infection. Defense chief Jonathan Tah, on the other hand, was temporarily out due to an infection and was replaced by Africa Cup of Nations returnee Edmond Tapsoba. Stuttgart had to do without the Egyptian national player Omar Marmoush and defender Waldemar Anton (both Corona).
The early stages in front of 10,000 spectators in the BayArena belonged to Leverkusen. After first approaches from top scorer Schick and Jeremie Frimpong, Piero Hincapie headed wide after a corner (9′). Schick should have achieved the lead they deserved at this point. The Czech EM hero failed from close range at the outer post (13th).
After that, Bayer struggled against the low-lying Stuttgart. Returnee Hradecky only had to run out of the penalty area once on the other side in order to tip the ball off Führich’s foot with the help of Frimpong (21′). A few minutes later, Tomas hit the bar with a remarkable flick (28′).
The game picked up speed towards the end of the first half. First, the supposed opening goal by young Bayer star Wirtz was disallowed due to an offside position (34′), then two minutes later a powerful shot by the national player was deflected wide of the goal.
After Führich checked Leverkusen’s Hradecky again, Diaby struck with a lot of willpower. The Frenchman first got stuck on three Stuttgarters, but then grabbed the exposed ball, stayed ice cold in a one-on-one against VfB keeper Florian Müller and shot powerfully into the net.
Stuttgart sent another sign of life right after the break: After a nice interaction between Führich and Orel Mangala, Tomas finished ice cold. But the joy of the VfB fans who had traveled with them was short-lived. After a free kick, Adli, who ran in perfectly, headed the ball into the far corner.
Kerem Demirbay with a long-range shot, Adli and Diaby each volley missed the preliminary decision against Swabians who were getting more and more tired. Then it went back and forth in the turbulent final phase.
–
