VfL Bochum secures the league – and celebrates exuberantly.
The fans stormed the pitch, drunk with joy, player and coach Thomas Letsch lay happily in each other’s arms. The “Castroper” turned into a huge party zone in seconds after VfL Bochum secured direct relegation in the dramatic season finale.
“We have achieved the big goal. Nobody expected that. Unbelievable, everything is wonderful. It will definitely be a long night,” said a beaming goalscorer Kevin Stöger after the deserved 3-0 (2-0) in the nerve-wracking duel against Bayer Leverkusen at sky.
Philipp Förster (19th), Takuma Asano (34th) and Stöger (86th) scored after more than 80 minutes for Bochum, who were strong at home and passed VfB Stuttgart and FC Augsburg in the table. Leverkusen’s Amine Adli saw the red card early on after an unnecessary assault (6′).
Leverkusen still plays internationally
Leverkusen, on the other hand, will also play internationally in the coming season. Despite the defeat in the 1,500th Bundesliga game in the club’s history, coach Xabi Alonso’s team defended sixth place, which entitles them to either the Europa League or the Conference League qualification, depending on the outcome of the DFB Cup final between RB Leipzig and Eintracht Frankfurt.
“It’s important for us to be relaxed,” Bochum’s coach Letsch demanded before the game. This actually applied to his players, but not to the guests. Amine Adli blew the fuses early on. The Frenchman let himself be carried away by a violent kick against Bochum’s Dominique Heintz off the ball.
Bochum punishes Leverkusen usury
And Bochum promptly punished Adli’s misfire: Förster converted a cross from Asano worth seeing, the sold-out Ruhrstadion on Castroper Straße shook.
Even before the break, the template provider then added himself. A long corner landed at the Japanese, who hit the near corner with a direct acceptance.
Leverkusen came out of the cabin powerfully. The Europa League semi-finalists squeezed the home side in their own half, but the best chances were carelessly wasted. Jeremie Frimpong failed from a few meters at the right inside post (61st). Bochum was now waiting for a counterattack and was rewarded.
VfL Bochum – Bayer Leverkusen: The voices of the game
Thomas Letsch (coach VfL Bochum): “No one needs an analysis of the game today. We are happy and so are those out there. The table at the end reflects the season. We always believed in ourselves. It had to be on matchday 34, it felt like that . It was clear to us: If we win, we will at least have the relegation place for sure.”
Xabi Alonso (Bayer Leverkusen manager): “We just wanted to take care of ourselves and win so as not to be dependent on what happens in Wolfsburg. Unfortunately, that didn’t work out. Bochum had one player more on the field for 85 minutes, but despite being outnumbered we created a few chances played. The game doesn’t have to end 0-3.”
VfL Bochum – Bayer Leverkusen: The data for the game
