Bayer Leverkusen made impressive progress in the Bundesliga after beating RB Leipzig. The “Werkself” didn’t give Borussia Mönchengladbach the slightest chance in the 3-0 (2-0) away win on Saturday (26.08.2023). The goals were scored by Victor Boniface (18’/53′) and Jonathan Tah (45’+6′).
Even before the kick-off, the fans were looking forward to a spectacle between Borussia Mönchengladbach and Bayer Leverkusen. Gladbach had played 4: 4 in Augsburg on the first day of the game, the “Werkself” won 3: 2 against RB Leipzig – goals seemed guaranteed. And it didn’t take long for them to fall, either. But then it became more of a one-sided show of power than a spectacle.
A goal to the liking of Bayer coach Alonso
Gerardo Seoane tried to set his team a little more defensively against his former club, apparently worried about running into the open knife against the more complete Leverkusen team. So Gladbach left the dominant part in the game to the guests – but was soon punished for it. Victor Boniface gave Bayer the lead in the 19th minute.
It was a remarkable goal and one coach Xabi Alonso will be happy to use as a blueprint for the future. Boniface’s header was the 29th touch of a long pass that saw Granit Xhaka play an Alonso-style diagonal ball at Alejandro Grimaldo just as the gap opened up, setting the scorer in motion.
Only Leverkusen plays – and then scores
Overall, Leverkusen showed how the team has developed under the former Real Madrid midfielder. The Bayer game now impresses not only technically, but also through maturity. With the mixture of spectacular offensive players, controllers like Xhaka and Exequiel Palacios and the increasingly stable defense around Jonathan Tah, Leverkusen seems to be developing into a top-level overall construct.
What was still missing in Gladbach was the reassuring 2-0 for Leverkusen. Xhaka scored with a volley, which is well worth seeing, but before that there had been a narrow offside position, which is why the goal didn’t count (22nd minute). Then Boniface just missed his second goal at the next good chance shortly before half-time (40th). And the 2-0 didn’t make it into injury time either, when Jonas Omlin was able to save first against Jonas Hofmann and then against Boniface (45’+2′).
And then it did happen: In the sixth minute of stoppage time, Xhaka played a long ball to Hofmann again, whose pass Tah converted. Gladbach’s approach in the first half was to make the game quieter than at the start of the season in Augsburg – and Leverkusen punished the Seoane team for this. The coach had to react, leaving the field to the opponent and going on the counterattack couldn’t work.
Gladbach changed, but not the game
Accordingly, Borussia came out of the dressing room much more offensively – but Leverkusen showed class there too. Florian Wirtz played the entire defensive with ingenious passes, which was optimally completed by Boniface to make it 3-0 (53rd). Shortly afterwards, the 22-year-old had the opportunity to raise again, but shot just over it (55′), then Omlin saved his team from conceding a fourth goal (56′) after a shot by Hofmann.
Leverkusen were superior to Gladbach in every respect, but then shifted down a gear and gave the hosts a few minor opportunities for the consolation goal. However, it only became really dangerous after a header from Ko Itakura, which Lukas Hradecky parried well (68th).
Otherwise, it was also clear in the final phase that there was a class difference between the two teams, at least on that day. Or is it even permanent? While Gladbach is far from making a solid impression, Leverkusen are in title form under Alonso. In this condition, the secret favorite becomes a real contender.
Even if Xabi Alonso doesn’t want to hear anything about it: “Much too far”, he said after the game when asked about his title ambitions. “We’re playing against Darmstadt next week, we want to win that.”
Werkself receives Darmstadt, Gladbach challenged against Bayern
The game against the newly promoted team will take place on Saturday (September 2nd, 2023 at 3:30 p.m.). The “foals” compete again in the evening game. The Seoane team has the German champions Bayern Munich as a guest (6.30 p.m.).