Bayer consolidates lead in table: 4:0 over Union Berlin
Setting the Bundesliga start record, breaking the club record - Bayer Leverkusen is increasingly becoming a real title contender and the biggest opponent of record champions FC Bayern. In the 4:0 (1:0) win over 1. FC Union Berlin, the unbeaten team of soccer coach Xabi Alonso continued its high-flying run and set a club record with seven wins in a row.
Despite the stress of traveling after the Europa League win three days earlier at Karabakh Agdam (1:0) in Baku, the Bundesliga leaders put in a commanding performance in front of 29,387 spectators in the sold-out BayArena after goals from Alejandro Grimaldo (23'), Odilon Kossounou (56'), Jonathan Tah (73') and Nathan Tella (83') to secure their tenth win in eleven games. Only Pep Guardiola as Bayern coach in 2015/16 - with current Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso as a player - has achieved 31 points after eleven games.
In contrast, Berlin's dramatic downward trend continued after the 1:1 draw in the Champions League at SSC Napoli. In Leverkusen, the Iron team suffered their ninth Bundesliga defeat in a row and plummeted to the bottom of the table. Another alarm signal: Union have never gone 419 minutes without scoring a goal in the top flight. The ongoing misery is likely to increase the pressure on coach Urs Fischer, even if the fans remain astonishingly loyal to him.
Hoping for a similar courageous performance from his team as in Naples four days earlier, Fischer relied on almost the same starting eleven. Only Axel Kral replaced the suspended Rani Khedira. However, that could not prevent the Werkself from taking control from the start. The visitors were spared an early deficit when referee Timo Gerlach reversed a penalty decision after an alleged handball by Paul Jaeckel (16) following an intervention by the Cologne video cellar.
However, Leverkusen's pressure steadily increased. Just seven minutes later, the tight Union defense was finally breached. Grimaldo, who was recently nominated for the Spanish national team for the first time, hit a spectacular long-range shot from a half-left position into the far corner of the goal to give the leaders the lead.
Leverkusen's high tempo and skillful combination play caused the Berliners major problems. The few attempts to relieve the pressure with their own attacks were mostly ineffective. The result was a one-sided game with clear advantages for the hosts. However, they failed to capitalize on this. Chances by Kossounou (27) and Florian Wirtz (45) to increase the lead to 2:0 went unused. In contrast, the Iron came close to the Bayer goal just once before half-time. However, Janik Haberer's header (43') was no problem for goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky.
After the restart, Alonso's side continued to push the pace - and were quickly rewarded. A corner from Jonas Hofmann was headed into the net by defender Kossounou. In view of their great superiority, this seemed to be the preliminary decision. For the remainder of the match, Leverkusen had little trouble not only maintaining their lead, but also extending it with goals from Tah and Tella.
Following their impressive win, Bayer Leverkusen remains unbeaten in the Bundesliga, extending their club record to eight consecutive victories in the league. Despite Union Berlin's effort, they suffered their tenth consecutive Bundesliga loss against Bayer, struggling to score, extending their dry spell to over 400 minutes without a goal.
Source: www.dpa.com
