Florian Wirtz walked with his head down on the field, while coach Xabi Alonso tried to lift the spirits of his disappointed players. Bayer Leverkusen faced another setback in their fight for the top spot in the league after a 0-0 draw against VfB Stuttgart. Despite clear dominance, the German champions missed out on a victory in the Bundesliga once again, following a late 2-2 draw last week in Bremen.
„We are disappointed,“ said Leverkusen’s captain Granit Xhaka on DAZN, „that was our best performance this season. With the ball, without the ball – we worked very intensively, created many chances. Sometimes you have to reward yourself.“
While Leverkusen could slip to third place over the weekend, Stuttgart are at risk of sliding down to the middle of the table. However, the guests can consider the point in the Rhineland as a win, even though they have now gone 14 games without a win against Leverkusen. „Leverkusen was stronger in attack and defense, so we are satisfied with the point. There was nothing more to be had today,“ said Stuttgart captain Atakan Karazor on DAZN. The impressive VfB goalkeeper Alexander Nübel said, „In the end, we can be happy that we didn’t lose the game.“
In recent encounters between the two teams, there have been plenty of goals, last-minute decisions, and send-offs, but never boredom. This time, however, the dynamics were slightly different. Although both Bayer and VfB Stuttgart typically pursue an offensive game plan, they initially focused on stability due to unexpected defensive weaknesses this season.
Leverkusen had conceded 15 goals prior to the game, while Stuttgart had conceded 16, so the match started off in a controlled manner. Leverkusen dominated from the start and had good chances through Jeremie Frimpong (12th minute) and Alejandro Grimaldo (14th), but were denied by Alexander Nübel. Both defenses did not allow many opportunities initially.
In a somewhat surprising move, Bayer coach Alonso switched to a back four formation. Nordi Mukiele was included in the starting lineup, allowing Grimaldo and Frimpong to play even more offensively on the wings. The VfB struggled to get into the game mainly because Bayer targeted to neutralize the midfield axis of Atakan Karazor and Angelo Stiller.
The guests struggled offensively and were prone to individual errors. In particular, young defender Anrie Chase, who replaced the suspended Jeff Chabot, made some mistakes in building up play. Leverkusen had several good chances, with Frimpong’s goal being disallowed for offside (32nd minute). Tapsoba hit the crossbar (41st), and Boniface had a header just before halftime.
Stuttgart barely posed a threat offensively, and their mistakes were noticeable. The game became more intense in the second half, with chances for both teams. Undav had a good opportunity for Stuttgart (62nd), while Frimpong missed narrowly with a header (66th). Boniface had a one-on-one chance with Nübel (73rd), but the goalkeeper made another strong save. That was all for Bayer that evening.
