Bayer Leverkusen has not yet lost a game under coach Kasper Hjulmand, but the team is far from the successful Alonso football. The numbers also show that.
Two victories and two draws are the yield of Kasper Hjulmand near Bayer Leverkusen Before his second Champions League game against PSV Eindhoven on Wednesday (9 p.m.).
So no defeat for the Danes since taking office three weeks ago: he can be satisfied with this balance. What he cannot be satisfied with is the way his newly formed team appears. The Rhinelander are still far from their desired top level.
Little shine, high efficiency
Best example: The latest Bundesliga appearance at FC St. Pauli. The Hamburgers gave the pace and pace, and many chances worked out, but the Biederen Leverkuseners were victorious. Little shine, high efficiency – the motto under Hjulmand.
He had asked for patience when you take office: “We want to shape a team, a playing style, a strategy – if you think that it is going overnight, you are wrong,” said Hjulmand in Hamburg and referred to the many newcomers in the squad and coaching staff. “Now we somehow have to find ways to win games. No matter what they look like.”
Bayer shy away from the risk
At least not nice at the moment. This is also shown by one of the most surprising statistics of the still young season: Leverkusen plays the least difficult passes from all Bundesliga teams (407). In addition, the penultimate passport is much too rarely received.
“We sometimes do not succeed. Our diagonal ten position is often playable, but we didn’t use it often. Of course we have to improve it and play out a lot more scoring opportunities,” analyzed Hjulmand.
Few chances are enough
But with all patience and waiting for fine playful moments that are efficiency: Even if Leverkusen currently misses a player like Wirtz, the teammates are staging: the team continues to have good individual queues and they are also satisfied with fewer opportunities. Leverkusen scored two goals more than the XGOALS value expected. So the value that indicates the likelihood of a goal success in a single shot.
Goal scorer Patrik Schick cannot contribute to even more efficiency: The Czech lacks the next few weeks due to injury And is replaced by Christian Kofane against Eindhoven.
Gloss, patience: Before the home game against PSV Eindhoven, “Psychologist” Hjulmand comes to the fore the positive: “We have so much quality. I love to work with this team. We will continue to fight.”
Our sources:
- News agencies SID/dpa
- Sportec Solutions
- Kicker
