Ernest Poku stars as Bayer Leverkusen ease past Union Berlin
Bayer Leverkusen's young duo of Ernest Poku and Christian Kofane scored the goals to seal a comfortable win over Union Berlin.
Leverkusen 2-0 Union BerlinGoals: 1-0 Poku 33', 2-0 Kofane 49'
Kasper Hjulmand's Leverkusen came into this Matchday 6 encounter unbeaten in four league matches, while visitors Union Berlin travelled to the BayArena having already claimed scalps against VfB Stuttgart and Eintracht Frankfurt this season.
Poku breaks deadlock
Union's best chance of the first half fell to Wooyeong Jeong, whose 10th-minute effort was well saved by Mark Flekken. Leverkusen dominated possession but struggled to find a way through the visitors' compact defence until the 33rd minute, when a slick move in transition saw Lucas Vázquez cut the ball back for Poku, who fired past Frederik Rønnow to give the hosts the lead.
The half ended on a sour note for Leverkusen, however, as stand-in captain Alejandro Grimaldo suffered a head injury following a collision and had to be stretchered off.
Gift for Kofane
Hjulmand made two changes at the break, with Ibrahim Maza and Arthur replacing Vázquez and the injured Grimaldo. The substitutions did little to disrupt Leverkusen's rhythm, and they doubled their advantage just four minutes after the restart.
Union keeper Rønnow passed the ball straight to Kofane, who gratefully accepted the gift to make it 2-0. After scoring on his UEFA Champions League debut against PSV Eindhoven in midweek, the Cameroonian marked his first home start in the Bundesliga with a goal.
Leverkusen continued to dominate, with Maza striking the post in the 57th minute and Aleix García having a goal ruled out for offside. Union coach Steffen Baumgart made a triple substitution in the 64th minute, bringing on Ilyas Ansah, Tim Skarke and Aljoscha Kemlein, but the visitors struggled to create meaningful chances as Leverkusen saw out a comfortable victory.
Player of the Match: Ernest Poku
Poku not only scored Leverkusen's crucial opening goal but was a constant threat throughout with his pace and movement, earning him 40 percent of the Man of the Match vote.
He recorded the second-highest top speed among Leverkusen players at 31.77 km/h, consistently troubled Union's defence and was involved in several dangerous attacks before being substituted in the 89th minute. With his second goal in as many appearances, Poku looks to be establishing himself as a key member of Hjlulmand's side.
Bundesliga Match Facts
xGoals: Leverkusen 2.84 - Union Berlin 0.68
Fastest player: Oliver Burke (Union), 34.4 km/h
Lowest goal probability: 1-0 by Ernest Poku (Leverkusen), 34 percent
Most pressed player: Malik Tillman (Leverkusen), 21 times under pressure
Pass efficiency: Aleix García (Leverkusen), +5.96
Fantasy Heroes: Malik Tillman (Leverkusen, 309 Points), Aleix García (Leverkusen, 295 Points), Ernest Poku (Leverkusen, 259 Points)
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