Bayer winter shopping
In the 1-1 draw in Munich, Leverkusen’s winter signing Sardar Azmoun received his first Bundesliga minute from coach Gerardo Seoane. Shortly before the end, the 27-year-old came on for Moussa Diaby in the Allianz Arena, but in the eyes of the Bayer coach the 2.5 million transfer is still a long way from regular appearances: “We don’t have the real one here yet Sardar”, the 43-year-old is quoted by “Kicker”.
The Iranian, who was injured recently, is out of the question as a serious backup for the injured top scorer Patrik Schik because, among other things, he is currently lacking the “high explosiveness”. “Azmoun has good draft. He is not a player who attracts attention with dribbles and hooks, but is very efficient. Very effective with the technique. Few ball contacts, high productivity, very clear in the finish. He’s different from the other strikers,” said Seoane. Nevertheless, the coach is happy “that we have Sardar in this phase. Without Patrik we need additional potential up front.”
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In terms of player type, Seoane compares Azmoun more with offensive power Florian Wirtz: “In Florian we have a guy who recognizes the spaces well, goes into the right spaces, out of sneaking. Azmoun is one of those guys too, but one row further up. He has a very good feeling for running paths, for the situation.
Bayer coach Seoane optimistic before the Europa League quarter-finals against Atalanta
With five wins from the last seven competitive games under their belt and a stable form, Leverkusen want to take the first step towards the quarter-finals in northern Italy. At table-6. in Serie A, on the other hand, things have been mixed recently. Coach Gian Piero Gasperini’s team lost 1-0 at AS Roma at the weekend. Seoane paid tribute to the opponent before the clash, Atalanta was “very strong collectively. (…) They have developed good players in recent years. We have studied the team closely – it will be a difficult task, but we can do it.”
The coach has to do without midfielder Kerem Demirbay. The 28-year-old is only allowed to intervene again in the second leg after his red card in the game against Real Betis. He is expected to be replaced by Exequiel Palacios.
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