B04 Leverkusen Bayer Leverkusen - FCU Union Berlin Union Berlin

B04

4

FCU

0

I. Maza
66'
P. Schick
48'

F. Medina
28'
E. Fernández
1'

BayArena(29,629 Spectators)

Dr. Robin Braun

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49 %Ibrahim Maza

Ibrahim Maza

Man of the Match Trophy

0:22

Watch: Diaby talks Bayer homecoming

Full-time: Bayer Leverkusen 4-0 Union Berlin

And that's it! Bayer Leverkusen dominated Union Berlin in every aspect during this match, winning 4-0 and bouncing back in convincing fashion after last week's surprise defeat by Elversberg. Die Werkself passed the ball around stylishly and finished clinically, with Maza in particular in excellent form. Union were hugely disappointing, and will regret not having more of a go at the BayArena.

© IMAGO/Eibner-Pressefoto/Thomas Thienel

Full-time

90'

+ 2

Rønnow with another save

García exchanges passes with Diaby, before seeing his shot comfortably saved by Rønnow, who may be Union's sole bright spot today (despite the scoreline).

90'

Three mins of added time

As the Leverkusen fans celebrate early with some non-stop chanting, the match moves into the first of three additional minutes.

88'

Yellow card

83'

Vázquez replaces booked Gutiérrez

Leverkusen make a late change, bringing on Vázquez for Gutiérrez, who picked up a yellow card earlier in the match.

83'

Substitution

Miguel Gutiérrez

82'

Heads have not gone down

Union are still trying their best, looking for a way to grab a consolation goal. Unfortunately Leverkusen have just been too strong for them today.

81'

Today's xG...

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).

...tells its own story.

xGoals

4

2.68

0.15

0

Goals

79'

Substitution

András Schäfer

77'

Maza's attempt goes high and wide

Gutiérrez finds Andrich, who lays it off to Maza. His looping shot is the right idea, but it's off-target.

74'

Quansah does well to stop Skarke's effort

Skarke fires in a shot from the left, but Quansah throws himself in the way to block it, preventing what looked like a certain goal.

74'

Substitution

Christopher Trimmel

Josip Juranovic

70'

Substitution

70'

Substitution

Ezequiel Fernández

0:21

Watch: Diaby on for Leverkusen

The returning hero comes on to a standing ovation, replacing Tillman.

67'

Substitution

67'

Substitution

Christian Kofane

Maza makes it four for Leverkusen!

Leverkusen's dominance continues with a nice goal from Maza, who shows some great footwork before hitting the back of the net from just outside the box!

© IMAGO/Axel Kohring

66'

Ibrahim Maza

GOAL!

4:0

Assist:P. Schick

Ibrahim Maza

Goal probability

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.

10 %

Shot speed

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.

98.66 km/h

Distance to Goal

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.

17.8 m

63'

Three subs for Union

The away side make a flurry of changes in an attempt to find a way back into this game, notably bringing on Skarke for the ineffective Latte Lath.

63'

Substitution

Aljoscha Kemlein

63'

Substitution

Woo-yeong Jeong

Michel Aebischer

63'

Substitution

Emmanuel Latte Lath

61'

Yellow card

Miguel Gutiérrez

60'

Rønnow remains focused

Rønnow, in his 150th Bundesliga game, makes his fourth save of the day, stopping Moreira's shot after good work by Fernández and Maza.

52'

Union a bit shellshocked

There's not been much of a reaction to that early goal. It's a bit of a mountain for them to climb now.

It's 3-0!

Just like in the first half, the home side get off to a lightning-quick start: Schick taps home Quansah's low cross to put his team three up!

© Pau Barrena

48'

Patrik Schick

GOAL!

3:0

Assist:J. Quansah

Patrik Schick

Goal probability

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.

57 %

Shot speed

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.

75.84 km/h

Distance to Goal

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.

7.53 m

47'

Yellow card

Zeno van den Bosch

46'

Back at it at the BayArena!

The ball is rolling again in Leverkusen.

Kick-off!

Half-time: Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 Union Berlin

The half-time whistle goes at the BayArena, and it's been a thoroughly commanding performance from Leverkusen, who lead through goals by Fernández and Medina. Union have so far been pinned back in their own half, something they'll look to rectify in the second period.

© IMAGO/DeFodi.de

Half-time

45'

One min to play

We're going to have just one minute of stoppage time at the BayArena.

43'

Juranovic's attempt blocked

Aebischer moves the ball to Juranovic, whose attempted drive is blocked. That's the visitors' first official shot.

40'

One-way traffic at the BayArena

Goal attempts

4off target

5on target

0off target

0on target

38'

Fernández's effort flies over

Maza finds Schick, who passes to Fernández, but the goalscorer's shot sails over the crossbar.

37'

Khedira blocks Maza's attempt

Maza finds Schick, who lays it off to Gutiérrez. The ball is worked back to Maza, but his shot is well blocked by the alert Khedira.

31'

Deserved lead

The current scoreline is no more than Leverkusen deserve - they've been totally on top in this opening half an hour.

Medina heads hosts into a two-goal lead!

Leverkusen double their lead through Medina's header! García plays a short pass to Gutiérrez, who whips in a cross from the left that the Argentinian duly heads home from close range. That's Gutiérrez's second assist of the match!

© IMAGO/Matthias Koch

28'

Facundo Medina

GOAL!

2:0

Assist:M. Gutiérrez

Facundo Medina

Goal probability

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.

33 %

Distance to Goal

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.

5.38 m

0:17

Watch: Schick's header rattles the bar!

García swings in a corner, and Schick meets it with a header that crashes against the crossbar!

23'

About halfway through the first half

Leverkusen continue to dominate the play, while Union have offered very little so far. Still lots of time for them to gain a foothold, though.

19'

Ljubičić's shot is blocked

A half-chance for Union: Rothe finds Kemlein, who launches a long pass to Ljubičić. The forward's shot is blocked, but it's called back for offside in the build-up anyway. It does offer a glimmer of hope for the visitors, though.

14'

Rønnow gets down to Moreira's effort

Maza links up with García, and the ball reaches Moreira, who shoots, but it's lacking power and Rønnow is equal to it.

11'

Hosts dominating early exchanges

Possession (%)

6832

0:25

Watch: Schick denied by a great save

Maza finds Gutiérrez, who delivers a cross into the middle for Schick. The Czech striker's header is kept out by an impressive reaction save by Rønnow. Leverkusen very much on top right now!

4'

Early booking for Uduokhai

Felix Uduokhai picks up a yellow card for a fairly obvious foul that left referee Braun with an easy decision.

4'

Yellow card

Fernández strikes early for Leverkusen!

What a start for the home side! Inside the opening minute, Quansah starts the move with a short pass to Tillman, who whips in a cross from the right flank to Gutiérrez. The left-back does well to pop the ball back across to Fernández, and he finishes neatly to make it 1-0!

© IMAGO/Mika Volkmann

1'

Ezequiel Fernández

GOAL!

1:0

Assist:M. Gutiérrez

Ezequiel Fernández

Goal probability

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.

57 %

Distance to Goal

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.

5.04 m

1'

And we're off!

We're underway at the BayArena!

Kick-off!

Big game for both sides

It's extremely early in the season, but both of these teams would love a win to kick-start their campaign. We'll find out if that happens in just a minute or two!

Ten mins to kick-off!

The players, coaches and fans are ready, and kick-off to what promises to be an intriguing match is fast approaching!

© Pau Barrena

0:34

Watch: Players head out into the sunshine

Star signing on bench

Leverkusen latest marquee signing, the returning Moussa Diaby, will start on the bench and will hope at some point to make his first Bundesliga appearance since 27 May 2023 (for Die Werkself in Bochum). Coach Martínez may well be tempted to put him in, if only because the forward scored four goals in seven Bundesliga matches against Union in his first spell.

© IMAGO/CHAI/IMAGO/Chai v.d. Laage

0:10

Watch: Moreira checks out the pitch

More on that Leverkusen team

Following the disappointing start in Elversberg, Bayer have made two changes to their last starting XI - and, unsurprisingly, both are at the back. Jarell Quansah and Facundo Medina step up in place of Loïc Badé and Lucas Vázquez, who drop to the bench. World Cup finalist Medina thereby makes his first start in a competitive match for Leverkusen.

© Alex Grimm

More on that Union team

Mauro Lustrinelli makes three changes to the team that drew with Frankfurt: regular starting 'keeper Frederik Rönnow returns, recent signing Felix Uduokhai replaces Leopold Querfeld in defence, and in midfield Livan Burcu starts in place of Andras Schäfer.

© Maja Hitij

Starting line-up: 1. FC Union Berlin

Formation:4-4-2

Union Berlin subs

Raab, Köhn, Querfeld, Trimmel, Haberer, Jeong, Schäfer, Skarke, Skov

Starting line-up: Bayer 04 Leverkusen

Formation:4-2-3-1

Leverkusen subs

Blaswich, Badé, Oermann, Vázquez, Andrich, Hofmann, Boniface, Diaby, Kofane

0:14

Watch: Leverkusen ready to host Union

Mauro Lustrinelli on facing Leverkusen

"Elversberg showed how to play against them - they delivered the perfect performance. Leverkusen obviously have huge potential and will only improve as the season progresses. You can already tell what their coaches are trying to implement."

© IMAGO/Michael Taeger

Carles Martínez on facing Union

"We're not happy with our defeat last weekend, but it is part of a wider process. We've expressed our thoughts on the game and I'm happy with the week we've had. On Saturday, we need to show passion to compete and get a win that would be very important for everyone."

© IMAGO/Sebastian Bach

Rare triumph

Khedira gave Union their only win in their last 11 Bundesliga meetings with Leverkusen, and second in 14 all told, when the teams met in February. Bayer have won seven, with five ending all square.

© IMAGO/Michael Taeger

Martínez targets first win

Only one Leverkusen head coach has lost his first two Bundesliga games: Dettmar Cramer at the start of the 1982/83 season (1-0 against Arminia Bielefeld, 5-0 at Eintracht Frankfurt). Die Werkself also lost their opener under new boss Erik ten Hag last term (2-1 vs. Hoffenheim), before drawing with Werder Bremen on Matchday 2. He was dismissed shortly afterwards.

© LOIC VENANCE

2:03

Watch: Union 1-0 Leverkusen - previous meeting

Rani Khedira's first-half strike was all that separated the teams back in February.

2:03

Watch: Elversberg 3-2 Leverkusen - last time out

Despite a late comeback attempt, Leverkusen's league campaign got off to a losing start against newly promoted Elversberg.

2:03

Watch: Union 3-3 Frankfurt - last time out

Tim Skarke scored late as Union Berlin fought back from 3-1 down to rescue an opening-day point at home to Eintracht Frankfurt.

Hello and welcome!

Welcome along and thanks for joining us for build-up and live coverage of this Matchday 2 fixture between Bayer Leverkusen and Union Berlin.