Leverkusen ease to Florida Cup win over Fluminense
Orlando - Bayer 04 Leverkusen gave a clear statement of their intent in the opening game of the Florida Cup with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Brazilian side Fluminense FC.
Rolfes and Drmic on target
Around 2,000 spectators witnessed coach Roger Schmidt’s
Werkself
get off to a typically frenetic start, with
testing Fluminense keeper Diego Cavalieri within just two minutes. It set the tone for a prolonged period of Leverkusen pressure, with Bellarabi again going close before
narrowly failed to convert an Emir Spahic cross. Kießling did find the target shortly before half-time, however, giving Bayer a deserved 1-0 lead at the break after heading in a Hakan Calhanoglu corner.
Schmidt made ten changes during the interval, with only Spahic staying on the field, but it didn’t disrupt their rhythm as the Bundesliga representatives maintained the upper hand for the majority of the encounter.
scored what was almost a carbon-copy of Kießling’s opener, nodding in from Vladlen Yurchenko’s corner, before
made it 3-0 moments later with a smart finish from 15 yards. Leverkusen now face SC Corinthians Paulista,
who lost 1-0 to 1. FC Köln on Thursday
, in Jacksonville on Saturday in their final Florida Cup fixture, looking for the win that would likely secure the title.
