Led by the once again irresistible national player Florian Wirtz, Bayer Leverkusen is doing its compulsory job at Arminia Bielefeld with ease – and is catching up on points with the league leaders Bayern Munich.
Gerardo Seoane relaxedly put on his coat and enjoyed the last few minutes on the mountain pasture, in the background the euphoric Leverkusen fans were already preparing for the top game against the record champions: “Take Bayern’s lederhosen off.” Led by the once again irresistible national player Florian Wirtz, the Werkself completed their compulsory task at Arminia Bielefeld with 4: 0 (2: 0) and can look forward to the cracker in two weeks against Bayern with equal points.
“I’m pleased with the effectiveness. We have the quality, and we brought it back onto the pitch,” said Bayer goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky DAZN: “Many of our players are confident. 4-0 again today, we have to be happy.”
The formally strong Moussa Diaby (18th), striker Patrik Schick (24th, 57th) and Kerem Demirbay (90th + 2, penalty kick) scored for the guests, who were superior in almost all respects. Arminia, on the other hand, remained without a win in the seventh game of the season and continues to occupy the relegation place with four points and a measly three goals.
Bielefeld in front of 16,250 spectators for the Werkself initially a very unpleasant opponent. Close to the opponent, courageous in a duel – the strong guests were involved in an exchange of blows with many nicknames and interruptions in the rain and the whipping wind.
Leverkusen too strong – Bielefeld goal is canceled
Bayer’s class, however, came to light when Diaby took the lead: Leverkusen fended off a shot by Arminia and was with four contacts in front of the goal of the hopeless Stefan Ortega.
A little more than a minute later, the Alm shook – but only briefly: When Patrick Wimmer (19th) hit a heel, Masaya Okugawa was offside in the field of vision of Bayer goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky, and the busy referee Felix Zwayer took the hit back . “I don’t think it’s offside. The referee saw it differently, and that’s a bitter defeat in the end,” said Wimmer.
And so Bayer set the course for victory early on. Wirtz, who was involved in almost all dangerous Leverkusen offensive actions, played a perfect pass into the interface with the Czech EM star Schick, who overcame Ortega cool.
Bielefeld now risked even more, Alessandro Schöpf (30th) checked Hradecky from close range, Fabian Klos (32nd) headed just over the gate. On the opposite side, Leverkusen found ever larger rooms.
Especially Schick, who after a provocative goal celebration in front of the Bielefeld fan curve, made no friends in East Westphalia, could have increased before the break (41st). After a strong individual performance, Wirtz also had the chance to score his fifth goal of the season (45th + 1).
With his sixth goal of the Bundesliga season, Schick finally pulled Arminia’s tooth with his head.
Arminia Bielefeld – Bayer Leverkusen: The voices of the coach
Frank Kramer (Arminia Bielefeld): “It was clear to us that we would get a few moments. We knew that we had to use them. The 2-0 goal was an effective hit. The will was there, but the ultimate belief was no longer.”
Gerardo Seoane (Bayer Leverkusen): “A big compliment to the team for being so present three days after Glasgow. The breadth of the squad helped us a lot today.”
