Werkself lose 3-2 to Mainz after levelling twice

Head coach Xabi Alonso opted for a 4-3-3 formation and he made six changes: Odilon Kossounou started on the right in place of Jeremie Frimpong and Daley Sinkgraven came in on the left for Piero Hincapie with Kerem Demirbay in midfield in place of Exequiel Palacios. The Spanish coach made three changes up front: Amine Adli, Sardar Azmoun and Callum Hudson-Odoi came into the starting line-up with Florian Wirtz and Adam Hlozek starting on the bench. Moussa Diaby missed out due to a slight muscle injury.

Werkself go behind twice

In the opening minutes, both sides found it difficult to penetrate the opposition penalty areas. Callum Hudson-Odoi had the first effort for the hosts on eleven minutes: The Werkself number 17 cut in from the left but the Mainz keeper Finn Dahmen had no problem saving the shot. The game took off after that.

The best chance up to that point fell to the hosts on 23 minutes: From a Kerem Demirbay free kick, Sardar Azmoun was caught on the foot by opponent Anton Stach and referee Robert Schröder immediately pointed to the spot. VAR intervened but the referee stuck to his decision after consulting the video screen. As in the game against Borussia Dortmund, it was Edmond Tapsoba who stepped up for the Werkself. The defender hit his spot kick to the bottom left corner but Dahmen anticipated the shot to prevent Leverkusen taking the lead.

The team under head coach Bo Svensson then put the visitors ahead with their first noteworthy chance of the game: From a throw in, the ball was headed on twice and Odilon Kossounou mishit a clearance with the ball landing at the feet of Mainz player Anthony Caci who put the ball in the back of the net to make it 1-0 for the visitors.

The Black and Reds were not put off course by conceding the goal and promptly responded six minutes later: From a long ball from Tapsoba, Azmoun gained possession from his Mainz opponent in a counter-attack. The Iranian raced towards the penalty area with teammate Nadiem Amiri on his right. The Werkself number 11 received the ball and hit a strong shot on the turn to level at 1-1 (32').

The 27,002 spectators at the BayArena witnessed an eventful first 45 minutes with two goals: In added time came the next dangerous situation with a high ball finding Jae-sung Lee who beat two opponents to head the ball into the middle. His teammate Leandro Barreiro shot and put the visitors in front at 2-1. And that was not all: Again there was danger in the box with Robert Andrich fouling the Mainz player Karim Onisiwo. Referee Schröder again awarded a penalty and again VAR intervened. However, this time Schröder reversed his decision after watching the replay for a foul in the build-up by a Mainz player. That meant the visitors went into half-time with a 2-1 lead.

Schick scores but Mainz respond

Alonso made two changes after half-time: Daley Sinkgraven and goalscorer Nadiem Amiri were replaced by Florian Wirtz and Patrik Schick. Substitutions that paid off two minutes later: Piero Hincapie put the ball into the penalty area with Jeremie Frimpong at the far post. The Mainz goalkeeper kept out the close range effort from the Dutchman. Then there was chaos: The ball again landed at the feet of a Leverkusen player and this time it was Azmoun who tried his luck but he only hit the post with the ball rebounding to Florian Wirtz. The midfielder passed to Schick who did not hesitate to slot the ball into the net to make it 2-2 (58').

The course of the game appeared to repeat itself: Amine Adli ran into the back of Mainz player Silvan Widmer on 82 minutes in his own penalty area and Schröder pointed to the spot before sending off the Leverkusen forward. Substitute Marcus Ingvartsen converted the penalty to give Mainz the lead for a third time on the night – 3-2. The Alonso team were unable to equalise again in the remaining time with the result that the Black and Reds suffered a 3-2 home defeat.

from Monaco to Freiburg

The Werkself face another two fixtures in the coming week: On Thursday 23 February, Xabi Alonso's team play AS Monaco in the play-off second leg in the Europa League. The kick off at the Stade Louis II is at 18.45 CET. Lukas Hradecky and Co. then travel to face SC Freiburg on Bundesliga matchday 22. Next Sunday's game in the Breisgau on 26 February kicks off at 15.30 CET.

Match stats:

Bayer 04: Hradecky – Kossounou (Frimpong 46'), Tah, Tapsoba, Sinkgraven (Wirtz 56') – Demirbay (Hlozek 84'), Andrich, Amiri (Schick 56')– Adli, Azmoun, Hudson-Odoi (Hincapie 46')

Mainz 05: Dahmen – Hanche-Olsen, Bell, Fernandes – da Costa (Widmer 74'), Barreiro, Stach (Barkok 90 +4’), Caci (Aarón 74’) – Lee (Ingvartsen 64’), Onisiwo – Ajorque (Kohr 67’)

Goals: 0-1 Caci (26’), 1-1 Amiri (32’), 1-2 Barreiro (45+4’), 2-2 Schick (58’), 2-3 Ingvartsen (82’)

Booked: Hincapie, Hlozek, Andrich – Bell, Hanche-Olsen, Barreiro, Kohr

Sent off: Adli

Referee: Robert Schröder (Hannover)

Attendance: 27,002 at the BayArena