Felix Magath could not score at his premiere on the Hertha bench. The old lady lost 2-1 at Bayer Leverkusen.
Felix Magath was already looking ahead: “We have to improve before the derby,” said the new head coach of Hertha BSC after his debut on the coaching bench in the 1: 2 (1: 2) at Bayer Leverkusen failed. Next Saturday (6.30 p.m. / Sky) Hertha will be in an explosive neighborhood duel against Eisern Union – after slipping to relegation rank 17…
“We didn’t offer enough fights in the first half, so we let Leverkusen play. We were much better in the second and fought back more,” analyzed the ex-champion coach, who missed his debut two weeks ago due to corona disease and had to watch Hertha’s game in the hotel after the Leverkusen match on Sky.
However, the return to the live stage in the German football upper house did not surprise Magath: “The Bundesliga hasn’t changed that much.”
However, the Hertha professionals are already feeling a new wind and more authority. “You can tell when there’s room for him,” emphasized goalkeeper Marcel Lotka, who came on for the injured Alexander Schwolow (16′). The keeper answered the question of whether the relegation would be achieved with a “definitely!”
Darida confirms: harder training under Felix Magath
Lucas Alario (34′) gave Leverkusen the lead with a nice shot into the corner. A little later Karim Bellarabi (40th) followed up. Vladimir Darida (42′) scored the goal before the break. Darida gave im sky-Interview also admits that Magath trains harder.
Magath used the international break to get the Berliners ready for the final sprint in the Bundesliga at the elegant Klosterpforte hotel in provincial East Westphalia during the week. His players were even “happy” to have been made fit for the relegation battle with the notorious medicine balls and sweaty resistance runs, the grandmaster reported about the drudgery.
Despite this, Bayer initially largely dominated the action in front of 23,557 spectators in the BayArena. Alario’s opening goal came logically. Bellarabi followed up a little later with a well-placed low shot.
But Hertha came back out of nowhere: Darida’s goal with a volley before half-time gave rise to hope, which almost in turn clouded Alario from the turmoil. Lotka was there from a short distance. Likewise the hitherto unemployed Bayer captain and goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky on the opposite side against Lucas Tousart.
Leverkusen also dominated the game after the break without creating any significant chances. Patrik Schick celebrated his comeback in the 65th minute after a long injury break (torn muscle fiber in his left calf). But that didn’t make the game any better.
Magath had to react unintentionally for the first time after 16 minutes. Goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow left the field with a hamstring injury and was replaced by Marcel Lotka. The substitute keeper was wide awake and blocked a powerful shot from Karim Bellarabi to the side.
Bayer also dominated the action in front of 23,557 spectators in the BayArena, a largely conservative Hertha could hardly provide relief. Alario’s opening goal came logically. Bellarabi followed up a little later with a well-placed low shot.
But Hertha came back out of nowhere: Darida’s goal with a volley before half-time gave rise to hope, which almost in turn clouded Alario from the turmoil. Lotka was there from a short distance. Likewise the hitherto unemployed Bayer captain and goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky on the opposite side against Lucas Tousart.
Leverkusen also dominated the game after the break without creating any significant chances. Patrik Schick celebrated his comeback in the 65th minute after a long injury break (torn muscle fiber in his left calf). But that didn’t make the game any better.
