In the Bundesliga west duel, VfL Bochum and Bayer Leverkusen shared the points at 0-0 and came even closer to their goals for the season.
Here you can read the game in the live ticker.
Moussa Diaby disappeared into the dressing room in frustration after his curious miss from the penalty spot. While the fans of VfL Bochum and Bayer Leverkusen were celebrating the 0-0 lead in the Bundesliga West duel after the final whistle, the Frenchman just wanted to get away. In the 65th minute, Diaby had scored what was supposed to be Leverkusen’s opening goal, but he slipped on the penalty kick and illegally touched the ball twice. Referee Felix Zwayer took the goal back.
“Annoying,” said Bayer goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky. But the guests could also live with the division of points. “We didn’t find the gap. But the point could still be important,” added Hradecky DAZN. As a result, the Rhinelanders secured third place in the Champions League.
The mood among the newcomers was even more exuberant. With a ten-point lead over the relegation place, Bochum is almost certain to stay up in the league. “We deserved the point. It’s been a long seven months,” said Simon Zoller after his comeback. The VfL striker suffered a cruciate ligament rupture in September. Meanwhile, the fans happily sang: “No more second division.”
Almost more important: three weeks after the cup throwing scandal there were no incidents, the 25,000 spectators in the sold-out Ruhrstadion, reminded again and again by announcements, kept all their drinks to themselves.
After the game was abandoned due to the cup being thrown at assistant referee Christian Gittelmann, the VfL fans were under particular observation. Among other things, the club had installed additional video technology in order to be able to identify perpetrators more quickly.
VfL Bochum – Bayer Leverkusen: Jonathan Tah replaced early injured
The Leverkusen supporters could not resist a mocking comment. “Win or throw a cup” was written on a banner in the guest corner. Then the Bayer fans with pyrotechnics caused a delayed kick-off.
The game on Castroper Straße got off to a hectic start, with many fouls and turnovers. Neither team was able to get order into their game at first. Leverkusen acted a little more purposefully and got into the penalty area time and time again without really creating a goal threat. A Patrik Schick header over the crossbar (23rd) was the clearest option.
Bayer coach Gerardo Seoane had to replace national player Jonathan Tah after half an hour, who had been injured in a running duel with VfL striker Sebastian Polter. As the playing time increased, the guests found more and more of their combination game. But Bochum had the best chance before the break: Danilo Soares hit the crossbar with a deflected shot (42′).
After the change of sides, the game became a little more open, both teams tried to bridge the midfield faster. After a foul by substitute Eduard Löwen on Paulinho, Zwayer gave Leverkusen a penalty, but Diaby failed to score properly.
Things got emotional in the 81st minute. Zoller came on to cheers from the fans.
VfL Bochum – Bayer Leverkusen: The voices of the coaches
Thomas Reis (VfL Bochum): “It’s not there yet. We always want to be serious. It was a very good game, another step forward, but there are still a few points to go. The point was more than deserved.”
Gerardo Seoane (Bayer Leverkusen): “We didn’t manage to accelerate adequately from all the possession of the ball in order to better attack the last line. That certainly has something to do with the opponent, and of course it’s also a bit of our fault. That’s why there weren’t many chances to score, so it was a fair one Draw.”
