Werkself review #FCUB04: Defences dominate

SUMMARY: NO WAY THROUGH

When the best defence in the Bundesliga (Union) meets the second best defence in this calendar year (Bayer 04 with 15 goals conceded) then this is exactly what is to be expected: An intense match with the main attraction in a battle of attrition played at a tactically high level. The encounter at the atmospheric stadium in Köpenick was dominated by two extremely solid and stable defences that gave little space away to the opposition. Union had their best attacking moves in the first 15 minutes with Odilon Kossounou twice blocking efforts from Becker (8’) and Jordan (11') before the latter put a close-range header wide of the target (12'). The best chance for Bayer 04 came five minutes later when Moussa Diaby fired the ball over the Union Berlin bar in a promising position from a Florian Wirtz pass after Robert Andrich did well to win possession. And the last goalscoring opportunity of the game also fell to Leverkusen: A cross from Jeremie Frimpong saw Mitchel Bakker win an aerial challenge but the Union keeper Rönnow was able to save the header from the Dutchman (86'). HERE is the match report.

REACTION: "REALLY HEAVY-GOING"

"Union have not lost at home this season and today you could see why," said head coach Xabi Alonso and he added after the fourteenth game in succession unbeaten across competitions: "The draw is a fair result for both sides. We are happy with our development and our target is to achieve a European spot in the end. We are giving our all for that." The analysis from the protagonists on the pitch was similar. "Of course, I would have been very happy to be the first to win here again but the 0-0 draw is okay for both teams," said Robert Andrich after the clash at his old stomping ground. The boss in defence Jonathan Tah adopted a similar position: "We’re not satisfied as we didn't win. But we have to accept that it's not easy here. It's not always fun with the way Union play and it was really heavy going to find space between the lines."

PERSONNEL: KOSSOUNOU'S GREAT DISPLAY

Xabi Alonso may have surprised many pundits with this decision: The Spaniard played central defender Edmond Tapsoba in a defensive midfield position. "Exequiel Palacios was injured and Nadiem Amiri suspended so we wanted to create more stability in the centre with this move. It worked out for Eddy and he performed very well as a six." With Tapsoba's change in role, the back three again consisted of Kossounou, Tah and Piero Hincapie and they succeeded in denying the opposition as in the game against RB Leipzig. The outstanding defensive performance by Odilon Kossounou drew praise in the Bayer 04 community on social networks: The Ivorian, who snuffed out dangerous moves from Union with committed physical intervention, collected the most votes for the Player of the Match award.

STATS: WIRTZ THE BALL-WINNER

Both teams failed to score but the number of efforts were almost identical: Union had seven shots on goal and the Werkself eight. Bayer 04 had the upper hand in possession (62% to 38%) as well as pass completion (89% for the Black and Reds, 72% for the Irons). Leverkusen were slightly ahead in terms of duels won with 102 to 88 and Florian Wirtz won the most challenges (23). The two fastest players in the match almost achieved the same speeds. Union's Sheraldo Becker was clocked at 34.26 km/h and Odilon Kossounou notched up 34.21 km/h.

WHAT THE PAPERS SAY: "TOUGH SHIFT VS POWER PLAY"

The Rheinische Post describes the impressive finish from Bayer 04: "The Werkself pressed for the win in the closing stages but had to settle for a draw." Kicker identified "two dominant defences." The Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger reporter witnessed an "intense goalless draw" and credited Leverkusen with "tough shift versus power play from the Irons" and drew the following conclusion: The 0-0 scoreline was a logical result in the match at the Alte Försterei that was dominated by tactical discipline and resolute defending." The Berliner Morgenpost Identified the fact that Union are still on course for the Champions League after the game against the Werkself with the headline: "0-0 win".

OUTLOOK: KÖLN AND ROMA TWO BIG GAMES

The 2022/23 season is coming to crunch time and the big games are coming thick and fast for the Werkself. Bayer 04 play FC Köln on Friday 5 May at the BayArena (kick-off: 20.30 CEST) in the derby moved forward by two days. The following week brings the semi-final first leg in the Europa League away to AS Roma on Thursday 11 May (kick-off: 21.00 CEST). “We are more ready than ever for the derby and the outstanding semi-final against Roma. We’re all really looking forward to it and we’ll take on the challenges with lots and lots of energy," said Jonathan Tah.