Bayer 04 Leverkusen is currently struggling through the season. In addition to a clear leader, the team also lacks speed and the necessary aggressiveness in their own game.
At least it went well. Nothing more was left of the 0-0 draw in the playoff second leg against Olympiacos Piraeus. Everyone involved agreed that they were disappointed with the game. “It was all far too sedate”said Captain Robert Andrich on behalf of his colleagues. “Can we do better? Yes, we can,” Sports director Simon Rolfes answered his own rhetorical question.
After all: Unlike Borussia Dortmund, Bayer 04 Leverkusen somehow managed to make it to the round of 16 of the Champions League. So far, so successful. But it cannot be overlooked that there have been problems with coach Kasper Hjulmand’s team for some time.
The Leverkusen team, completely changed before the start of the season with 16 additions, is still looking for its new identity, for a game idea that will carry them through even in difficult situations. The team is young, highly talented, but often too playful and unable to adapt to changing game situations. “We have to keep improving”Hjulmand has been saying almost like a mantra for weeks. He knows about the constantly recurring fluctuations in performance in a young team.
In the middle of Discovery process
Quite a few Leverkusen fans would like to see courageous performances back like those that once existed under master coach Xabi Alonso. With Granit He pulled his teammates along, instructed them and sometimes called them into question when they stepped out of the tactical line. And who thereby created a unity that has rarely existed in this form.
The current Leverkusen team is currently in the middle of a discovery process under Hjulmand. The problems are not due to the playful dominance, which should also be achieved under Hjulmand, as was once the case under Alonso. With 58 percent ball possession in the Bundesliga and a passing rate of 89.5 percent, the Werkself are in second place in these categories, just behind the leading FC Bayern. But that was almost it for the good news.
Deficits in aggressiveness
Many observers are complaining about the lack of pace and intensity in many phases of the Werkself’s current game. The games just flow along without the spectators having the impression that the Bayer professionals have an absolute will to crush their opponents with their own energy.
When it comes to dynamism, aggressiveness and passion, all categories that were at the top under Alonso, there are de facto deficiencies in the Danish football coach’s players. Bayer 04 are currently only in 17th place in terms of running distance (2,615.2 kilometers).
The Werkself also occupies the same place when it comes to attacking the opponent and thereby committing fouls (186). The Leverkusen team is also in second-to-last place of all Bundesliga teams in intensive runs (13,810), and in 18th and last place in sprints. Above all, there is a lack of aggressiveness in Leverkusen’s game, as the numbers clearly show.
No Lead player in sight
And in addition to these commitment deficits, one of the most important findings so far is that a leader like Xhaka is nowhere to be seen.
The Swiss’s hoped-for successor, Aleix García, is more of a subtlety than a leader. At 20, Ibrahim Maza is still too young to take on this role. Andrich moves back into the defensive line too often to give (leader) impulses. Midfielder Exequiel Palacios is a hard, honest worker, but he doesn’t have the strategic options to permanently lead the team in one direction. Malik Tillmann is extremely introverted and is hardly suitable for moving forward with much self-confidence.
And Alex Grimaldo, who is probably best suited to take on a leadership role, is making every effort to take on and fill this role. As a modern full-back, however, he rarely has the opportunity to have a decisive influence on his team and the game.
No more mistakes allowed
Shifting responsibility onto several shoulders has so far not worked well enough for the Werkself. Most recently, in the defeat at Union Berlin, the Leverkusen team had already disappointed, something they can no longer afford so often.
There are now three opponents in the Bundesliga against Mainz 05 (H), Hamburger SV (A) and SC Freiburg (A), against whom the Hjulmand team can no longer afford to make any mistakes if they are to qualify for the Champions League next season. The constant improvement demanded by Hjulmand is therefore urgently needed.
