“We were alert and slick from the off and produced a mature performance,” said Lars Bender after the match. “Everyone gave their all today. We’ve now put ourselves in a good position with eight games left until the end of the season.” His twin brother Sven commented: “We knew how strong Gladbach are and we wanted to go into the game with a high level of intensity. We managed to do that. I’m happy we’ve won this important game.”
Bayer 04’s line-up showed one change from the 2-1 win at Wolfsburg with Leon Bailey replacing Karim Bellarabi on the left wing. The aim for both sides was clear: The Werkself wanted to increase their lead over a fellow challenger for the European spots, while Mönchengladbach were looking to close the gap.
“We want to get at Gladbach early on and attack and stop them getting into the game,” said head coach Heiko Herrlich before the match. Lars Bender led the side out as captain as usual in his 200th Bundesliga appearance, and he provided the first moment of action in the fifth minute when he warmed the gloves of Borussia goalkeeper Yann Sommer from outside the area. The visitors replied a minute later with a shot from Vincenzo Grifo which tested Bernd Leno for the first time. Kai Havertz had another effort on goal a few minutes later, but again it was little trouble for the goalkeeper.
The Werkself posed more of a threat, had more possession and the clearer chances. Charles Aránguiz with a free-kick (18’) and Bailey with a left-footed shot (22’) had the next opportunities. Moments later, the Jamaican fired wide again on the counter, failing to see the run of the unmarked Aránguiz. The pressure from the hosts was increasing and Kevin Volland had a great opportunity with his head in the 36th minute. Bailey, now playing on the right, delivered an inviting cross to the striker but he headed inches wide of the post from close range.
However, three minutes later the Werkself finally took the lead. Bailey again went down the right and dinked another perfect cross towards Volland, who headed the ball back on a plate for Alario. The Argentinian swept it in to make it 1-0 with his seventh goal of the season.
Herrlich’s men stayed on the front foot and went in search of a second goal, while Gladbach were offering little in attack. Alario came close to getting it on the stroke of half-time when his curling effort from just outside the area bounced narrowly wide of the right post.
After the break, the Werkself picked up from where they left off, particularly with Bailey’s pace down the right. Just three minutes into the second period, the Jamaican set up the impressive Alario who headed just wide of the left post. Bayer 04 continued to set the tone of the game, winning their tackles and looking dangerous whenever they attacked. And again and again, it was Alario on the end of it. In the 63rd minute, he again linked up with Volland but his close-range shot was blocked by Jannik Vestergaard.
Bailey made way for Julian Brandt on 68 minutes, with Volland switching to the right and Brandt taking up position on the left. The Werkself continued to control proceedings but had to be on their toes as Mönchengladbach upped the pressure in search of an equaliser. The visitors didn’t really threaten the Bayer 04 goal until the closing stages as the contest livened up again. Former Leverkusen man Josip Drmic had a free header from five yards out on 82 minutes but failed to hit the target. Leno then came to his team’s rescue when he produced a great reflex save to prevent an own goal from Wendell on 89 minutes.
As the game went into added time, Aránguiz had the next big chance for the hosts with a header before Brandt made it 2-0, finishing off a counter-attack after some excellent work from Alario.
The Werkself are back in action next Sunday in the derby against FC Köln. The match at the RheinEnergieStadion kicks off at 15:30 CET on 18 March.
Match stats:
Bayer 04: Leno – L. Bender, Tah, S. Bender, Wendell (Retsos 90+2)– Baumgartlinger, Aránguiz – Volland, Havertz (Kohr 85'), Bailey (Brandt 68') – Alario
Borussia Mönchengladbach : Sommer - Elvedi, Ginter, Vestergaard, Jantschke (Cuisance 71') - Kramer, Zakaria (Drmic 79') - T. Hazard, Grifo - Stindl, Bobadilla (Hofmann 64')
Golas: 1-0 Alario (39'), 2-0 Brandt (90+3)
Referee: Robert Hartmann (Wangen)
Booked: Zakaria, Vestergaard, Kramer
Attendance: 28,809
After Jens Nowotny was officially named a Bayer 04 honorary captain last weekend, the long-standing Werkself player is part of the Leverkusen delegation on the trophy tour to New York City next week from 11 to 14 September. In an interview with bayer04.de, the 50-year-old talked about his expectations ahead of the trip to the metropolis on the East Coast of the USA.
Show moreThe German Football League (DFL) has confirmed the dates and kick-off times for matchdays 6 to 12 of the 2024/25 Bundesliga season. Full details of the Bayer 04 fixtures.
Show moreMarkus Rehm, a long jumper at TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen, won the gold medal for the fourth time in succession at the Paralympics on Wednesday.
Show moreThe fixture details for the second round of the DFB Pokal 2024/25 have been confirmed. The home tie for Bayer 04 against second division SV 07 Elversberg is on Tuesday, 29 October with the kick off at 18.00 CET (live on Sky). That was announced by the German Football Association (DFB) on Thursday.
Show more