The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Leverkusen

  • Leverkusen move eight points clear in Bundesliga

    Leverkusen move eight points clear in Bundesliga

    Bayer Leverkusen moved eight points clear of Bayern Munich at the top of the Bundesliga after a narrow victory at mid-table Heidenheim.

    Jeremie Frimpong put Xabi Alonso’s unbeaten side in front in first-half injury time with a deflected effort.

    Amine Adli added a second after the interval, rounding goalkeeper Kevin Muller before slotting home.

    Tim Kleindienst pulled one back for Heidenheim with four minutes left but Leverkusen managed to hold on.

    Read Also: BUNDESLIGA: Advantage Leverkusen as Bremen stun Bayern Munich

    Second-placed Bayern can reduce the deficit on their Bundesliga title rivals with victory at Bochum on Sunday.

    Leverkusen’s victory means they have now gone a record-equalling 32 games without losing.

    Bayern went undefeated in 32 consecutive competitive matches under Hansi Flick from 2019 to 2020.

    Leverkusen are chasing their first Bundesliga title having finished as runners-up in 1996-97, 1998-99, 1999-2000, 2001-02, and 2010-11.

  • BUNDESLIGA: Advantage Leverkusen as Bremen stun Bayern Munich

    BUNDESLIGA: Advantage Leverkusen as Bremen stun Bayern Munich

    Mitchell Weiser stunned his former club with the only goal as Werder Bremen defeated Bayern Munich 1-0 yesterday, keeping Bayer Leverkusen seven points clear at the top of the Bundesliga.

    It was the first time since February 2020 that the German champions had failed to score in a Bundesliga game.

    Read Also: Leverkusen 4-0 Bochum: Brilliant Boniface hits 10th Bundesliga league goal

    Leverkusen’s last-minute 3-2 win at RB Leipzig on Saturday, with Xabi Alonso’s men coming from behind twice and scoring the winner in injury time, put the pressure back on Bayern, who went into yesterday’s game with two games in hand.

    Bremen were unlucky to have a goal struck off by VAR in the first-half for a foul on Jamal Musiala but Weiser took matters into his own hands in the second period, gliding down the right wing and blasting into the net after 59 minutes.

  • Leverkusen’s unbeaten runs excites unstoppable Boniface

    Leverkusen’s unbeaten runs excites unstoppable Boniface

    Super Eagles striker Victor Boniface scored his ninth  Bundesliga  goal of the season  and set up two more goals for a 3-0 victory yesterday over visiting Eintracht Frankfurt.

    Unbeaten in the Bundesliga this season, Xabi Alonso’s team took a 14th -minute lead with 22-year-old Nigeria international Boniface powering into the box and threading a low shot past two defenders and keeper Kevin Trapp for his ninth goal of the campaign.

    Boniface’s strike was the fourth time this campaign he has scored the game’s opening goal – no other player in the division has done so frequently.

    Meanwhile, Alejandro Grimaldo’s 35th -minute free kick slid off the crossbar before Jeremie Frimpong doubled their lead in the 51st  on the rebound after Trapp had saved a Boniface shot.

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    The striker then sent Florian Wirtz through with a clever pass for their third goal six minutes later with the Germany international chipping the ball over the keeper.

     “It was really a good game and we knew what we wanted to do; we scored  and which  is the most important thing for us to win the game,” Boniface  told the Bundesliga web site .“We had the victory which is the most important  thing.

    It’s been (unbeaten run) has been amazing and  big credits to the coach and  all the players are giving their hundred percent  to achieve something like this  and we are really prod of ourselves.”

    Yet Boniface said  Leverkusen are not oblivious of the task ahead of them despite being the  Bundesliga’s Winter Champions, adding  h and his teammates  remain focussed.

    “ We have a game again on Wednesday (against)  and  that’s our focus  and after that game, we can think of what  will happen next year,” he said.   

  • Leverkusen 4-0 Union Berlin

    Leverkusen 4-0 Union Berlin

     Tella celebrates Super Eagles call up with a banger

    Super Eagles’ newest player, Nathan Tella, celebrated his call-up by scoring his maiden Bundesliga goal in Leverkusen’s 4-0 win over Union Berlin.

    The Nigerian, according to Soccernet.ng,  joined Leverkusen in the summer from relegated Premier League side, Southampton, but has mostly played second fiddle to in-form Jonas Hoffmann.

    Union Berlin have been winless in the Bundesliga since September, and Alex Grimaldo made sure they’d be leaving the Bay Arena with no points.

    In the twenty-third minute, the Spanish full-back swung a stunner into the back of the net from outside the box to score the first of the evening.

    Victor Boniface and Florian Wirtz had opportunities to extend the lead for Xabi Alonso’s men but were denied by Union Berlin goalkeeper, Frederik Ronnow.

    Twelve minutes into the second half, a corner-kick from Hoffmann was met by Ivorian centre-back, Odilon Kossounou in the eighteen-yard box to double the lead for Die Werkself.

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    Grimaldo turned provider for the third goal, playing a corner which was met by one of the longest serving Leverkusen players, Jonathan Tah, making sure Union were demoralized and dispirited.

    With nine minutes to go, Tella was introduced, as he replaced Jonas Hoffmann. Two minutes later, he got on the scoresheet. A free kick from Union fell into the path of Wirtz who spread the ball to Tella.

    The 24-year-old winger started a counter-attack and fed the ball to Moroccan Amine Adli. Adli then played the ball in behind an outnumbered Union defence, finding Tella in space. The player had the chance to pick out Boniface or go for goal, but went with the former, and scored his first-ever Bundesliga goal.

    The addition of Tella to the already talented front line of the Super Eagles has come as good news for Nigerian football fans, at home and abroad.