FCH Heidenheim Heidenheim - B04 Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen

Highlight Video 1 fc heidenheim 1846 vs bayer 04 leverkusen

Highlights

90' +1'
E. Buendía

Voith-Arena(Sold out)

Tobias Stieler

Full-time: Heidenheim 0-1 Leverkusen

What a result for Leverkusen. They were so off the pace for most of the game until the clock hit 90 and Buendía popped up with his first goal for the club. It brings them back to within six points of Bayern. Heidenheim, who probably deserved at least a point, are left heartbroken.

Full-time

90'

+ 2

A good day after all?

It's Buendía's first Bundesliga goal since his winter arrival from Aston Villa. And what a crucial one it could be.

90'

+ 2

Substitution

Julian Niehues

Jan Schöppner

90'

+ 2

Substitution

Stefan Schimmer

Adrian Beck

90'

+ 1

LATERKUSEN STRIKE AGAIN!

Well, well, well. The clock had just hit 90 and that means Leverkusen time. Buendía picking up the ball on the edge of the D, taking aim with his right foot and wheeling away in celebration as the ball clips the inside of the post and goes in. A huge goal for the defending champions.

90'

+ 1

Emiliano Buendía

GOAL!

0:1

Goal probability

Goal probability determines the likelihood that the ball will land in the goal from every position on the pitch. The value is based on large amounts of data from previous years; factors such as shot angle, distance to goal and opponent pressure - as well as mathematical models.

9 %

Shot speed

Shot speed describes the maximum speed in km/h that a ball reaches in a shot on goal. The distance is measured from the location of the shot to the centre of the goal.

96.5 km/h

Distance to Goal

The distance to goal is measured at the time of the shot - from the position of the ball to the center of the goal.

18.18 m

90'

Speed check: The fastest player in the game after 90 minutes

Through high-end camera technology and machine learning, the speed of each player is evaluated in real time. Top speed then means, the fastest measured single frame of a player/game.

Leonardo Weschenfelder Scienza34.47km/h

Sirlord Calvin Conteh34.44km/h

Jeremie Agyekum Frimpong33.24km/h

88'

Over the bar

Beck gets to the by-line and cuts back to Pieringer, but he skies his shot from just inside the area.

86'

Hofmann!

Finally Kevin Müller is forced into a save, but it's a simple one as Hofmann failed to really connect from 18 yards.

85'

Who's need is greater?

Leverkusen will fall eight points behind Bayern with six games to go as it stands. Meanwhile, Heidenheim will open up a three-point cushion over the automatic relegation spots ahead of games against Frankfurt, Bayern and Stuttgart.

85'

Substitution

Jonas Hofmann

Robert Andrich

A struggle to get through

78'

Schick wide

A chance for the sub now as he gets his head onto a cross but there's no direction on it.

76'

Substitution

Emiliano Buendía

Amine Adli

76'

Substitution

Sirlord Conteh

Niklas Dorsch

76'

Substitution

Luca Kerber

Tim Siersleben

75'

Leverkusen yet to hit the target

The only two shots of this half have come from Heidenheim.

Goal attempts

7off target

2on target

3off target

0on target

73'

Still nothing

Arthur looks for Schick with a deep cross, but it sails over the Czech striker.

4:33

Watch: Patrik Schick - the making of Leverkusen's super striker

68'

Double change

Frimpong will move further forward as Arthur goes to wing-back. It's a straight swap up top with Schick on for Boniface.

68'

Substitution

Patrik Schick

Nathan Tella

68'

Substitution

Arthur

Victor Boniface

66'

Almost special!

Traoré up the right, flashes the ball into the six-yard box. Pieringer goes for the back-heel but doesn't quite get it right and the grateful Hrádecký can collect.

64'

No way through

Xhaka with a pass into the feet of Boniface, who tries to turn his marker and fire off Leverkusen's first shot from inside the box, but he's immediately swarmed.

62'

Risky

A hefty backpass from Tah almost catches out Hrádecký, who's just able to clear the ball ahead of Beck charging at him.

62'

Leverkusen changes coming

Alonso is dishing out instructions as he looks to turn the tide.

56'

Attacking change

It's a bold move from Frank Schmidt, sending on the more attacking Scienza for the hard-working Busch, who's normally a full-back but has done a very good job in central midfield today.

56'

Substitution

Léo Scienza

Marnon Busch

53'

A really good display

Heidenheim may be fighting to stay up but they've been undoubtedly the better side so far. Leverkusen are yet to have a shot from inside the box.

50'

Heidenheim a step ahead

Tackles won

47'

Beck blocked

The Heidenheim man twists and turns inside the penalty area looking for a yard of space for a shot. He thinks he's got it, but Andrich sticks tight and throws out a leg to block for a corner.

46'

Xabi's long walk

The Bayer boss was late out from the changing rooms, which are located on the opposite side of the pitch from the dugouts, so he's having to trot around the outside to get back to his bench.

46'

Back out

No changes in personnel at the break. Will there be a change in the pattern of play?

Kick-off!

Half-time: Heidenheim 0-0 Leverkusen

No goals so far at the Voith-Arena, but it's been the hosts in 16th place who've come closest on a number of occasions. The reigning champions have struggled to get forward and carve out notable chances. Bottom line, however, is that it's still all square at 0-0.

Half-time

44'

Xhaka off target

Boniface lays the ball off to the Swiss midfielder, who can certainly hit them, but this one doesn't bother Müller in goal.

42'

First card

Schöppner pulls back Tella attempting to break away. His seventh caution of the campaign.

42'

Yellow card

Jan Schöppner

40'

Pieringer once more

Yet another chance for the Heidenheim striker as he collects a diagonal ball ahead of Hincapié, but he snatches at his left-footed shot inside the D.

36'

Now Leverkusen

Only a second shot of the game by the champions as Adli gets the ball out of his feet and has a crack from 20 yards left of the centre, but it swerves comfortably wide into the side netting.

33'

Pieringer again

A counter this time as Krätzig intercepts a pass. The move progresses to Pieringer right of centre. He goes low from the edge of the penalty area but drags his effort wide.

32'

Pieringer lob

The striker runs onto a bouncing ball in behind and opts for the audacious lob from 10 yards but gets it all wrong and knows the shot well over the bar.

30'

Should Heidenheim be ahead?

xGoals

The xGoals value of a club is calculated from the sum of all goal probabilities (goals and shots on goal) of that team. During a match, it’s easy to see whether the club is performing better than expected (goals > xGoals) - or maybe even higher (xGoals > goals).

They've been the much livelier side going forward in the first 30 minutes.

xGoals

0.69

0.02

Goals

30'

Speed check: The fastest player in the game after 30 minutes

Through high-end camera technology and machine learning, the speed of each player is evaluated in real time. Top speed then means, the fastest measured single frame of a player/game.

Jeremie Agyekum Frimpong33.24km/h

Marnon Busch31.59km/h

Adrian Beck31.57km/h

Off the bar and post!

You don't get much closer than that. Krätzig's in-swinging corner is missed by Xhaka at the near post and falls for Gimber. He spins and smashes the ball off the underside of the bar and then watches it bounce away off the far post. What a chance for Heidenheim.

23'

Adli on the stretch

Better from the defending champions as Frimpong comes up the right and bends the ball in behind the Heidenheim defence. Adli's there at the far post but can't make any contact on the stretch.

19'

A slower start

Heidenheim found themselves 1-0 up after 10 minutes and doubled their lead after 21 in the reverse fixture at the BayArena, but Leverkusen still went on to win 5-2.

18'

Wide of the mark

Heidenheim with a quick throw on the right. The ball eventually comes over to Krätzig on the left, who winds up but can only fire his shot into the side netting.

16'

Tight so far

Just one attempt each in the opening quarter of an hour, but Beck's effort came far closer than Hincapié's long-range crack.

Goal attempts

1off target

0on target

1off target

0on target

14'

Confident claim

Traoré hangs up a cross from deep on the right. Hrádecký calls it and catches confidently, but takes a knock from the challenging Pieringer in the process.

Beck!

Golden chance for the home side as they carve open the Leverkusen defence. Beck is through on goal to the left, but puts his shot wide of the far post with only Hrádecký to beat.

11'

Hincapié wide

The Ecuadorian scored in Leverkusen's last away game at Stuttgart but this effort from well over 25 yards is well wide.

Can Boniface make an impact?

Preferred ahead of Patrik Schick today, can the Nigerian repay the faith?

10'

First foray

Good run by Tella up the right flank. He looks for Boniface in the middle, but a red shirt is there first.

Andrich in the back three

Ex-Heidenheim man Robert Andrich has dropped into the heart of the Leverkusen back three, with Jonathan Tah to his right. Amine Adli and Nathan Tella are the pair playing off Victor Boniface.

Under way!

Can Leverkusen get back to within six points of Bayern or will Heidenheim put some distance between themselves and the bottom two?

Kick-off!

Running repairs

But just before we can start, the ground staff are called to fix a gap in the net that Heidenheim will be attacking in the first half.

Out they come

Two teams in desperate need of points for different reasons come out into the Heidenheim sunshine.

0:11

Warm-ups

The Leverkusen players are out clad in their training kit to go through their paces.

0:10

Pitch inspections underway

The players take to the pitch to inspect the turf ahead of kick-off.

1:10

The visitors have arrived!

Heidenheim team news

For Frank Schmidt, it's just the one change to his side that got a crucial away win at Wolfsburg last time out. Traoré starts in place of Zivzivadze, who misses out with a knee injury.

Leverkusen team news

Xabi Alonso makes three changes to his side that brushed Bochum aside 3-1 last matchday. Andrich, Tella and Adli replace Mukiele (benched), Palacios (not selected), and Schick (benched) in the starting line-up.

Heidenheim starting XI

Müller - Mainka (c), Gimber, Siersleben - Busch, Schöppner, Dorsch, Krätzig - Traoré, Pieringer, Beck

Heidenheim subs

Feller, Föhrenbach, Keller, Wanner, Niehues, Kerber, Scienza, Schimmer, Conteh

Leverkusen starting XI

Hrádecký (c) - Frimpong, Tah, Hincapié, Grimaldo - Xhaka, Andrich - Tella, García, Adli - Boniface

Leverkusen subs

Kovář, Tapsoba, Arthur, Mukiele, Hofmann, Schick, Buendía, Sarco, Alajbegovic

Xabi Alonso on facing Heidenheim

"Our full focus is on the league. There are seven games left and we want to be ready for each of them. We want to win all these games, starting tomorrow. We want a clear reaction tomorrow, to regain confidence in possession and with good passing moves. We expect Heidenheim to be similar to Bochum last time out - a hard game against a hard opponent. They're fighting to stay up."

Frank Schmidt on facing Leverkusen

"When the Leverkusen machine gets going, then they're tough to defend against. We need to keep Leverkusen busy so they can't be too attacking and just easily play their way forward. Ultimately against Leverkusen, it's about defending really well and allowing them as few shots as possible."

4:05

Watch: Never write off Leverkusen

Bayern be warned...

Unbeatable on the road in the Bundesliga?

While Leverkusen did lose at Arminia Bielefeld in the DFB Cup semi-finals in midweek, they are now unbeaten in their best 30 Bundesliga away matches. That is both a club and division record, and given they have won each of the three Bundesliga meetings between these two teams, you would expect them to continue that run.

2:03

Watch: Bayer Leverkusen 5-2 Heidenheim - previous meeting

The Werkself were in top form in the reverse fixture in November.

2:03

Watch: Wolfsburg 0-1 Heidenheim - highlights

FCH, meanwhile, picked up a crucial three points away at Wolfsburg on Matchday 27 to move out of the bottom two.

2:03

Watch: Bayer Leverkusen 3-1 VfL Bochum - highlights

Last time out, Leverkusen over Bochum to keep themselves in the Meisterschale race.

Important clash at both ends of the table

Currently just two points above the relegation zone, Heidenheim remain very much in trouble at the wrong end of the table. They will be looking for a surprise win against reigning champions Leverkusen, who enter the matchday six points adrift of league-leaders Bayern as they look to keep up the pressure on their title rivals.

Hello and welcome!

Welcome along and thanks for joining us for build-up and live coverage of this Matchday 28 fixture between 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 and Bayer 04 Leverkusen.