Stuttgart is still under pressure in the relegation battle, Leverkusen misses the leap back into the Europa League. Bayer keeper Hradecky demands an increase against Roma after the 1-1 draw.
Sebastian Hoeneß summed it up in the truest sense of the word. The one that VfB Stuttgart won in the 1-1 (0-0) home game against Bayer Leverkusen was not enough for the coach – and his opponent too.
“I don’t think it was the desired result for either side,” said Hoeneß after the draw, which was performance-based but ultimately didn’t help either club – on the contrary.
In front of 46,300 spectators, VfB missed out on an important win in the relegation battle and are currently 17th in the Bundesliga with two Bundesliga games to go. Bayer conceded another three days after the 1-0 defeat in the first leg of the Europa League semifinals at AS Roma setback and can only reach the Conference League via the league. He is still “proud” of his team, said Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso. The trip to Rome was also exhausting.
Wohlgemuth: “You have to look ahead”
The outcome of the game, which was poor in the first half but then faster after the break, was “disappointing,” said Stuttgart’s sports director Fabian Wohlgemuth. “But you have to look ahead, even if it sounds tough. It’s not just optimism, it’s the most pragmatic approach to quickly put the game behind us and concentrate on the next two.” Next Sunday VfB will play in Mainz. It is possible that the gap from currently one point to relegation rank 16 has already grown again by then.
At Bayer, the focus is fully on the European Cup second leg against Roma on Thursday. Both in the first duel with the Italians and now in Stuttgart, they “didn’t see the best Leverkusen players of the season,” said goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky. But they need it to reach the final.
Guirassy and Palacios score from the point
The top scorer Serhou Guirassy, who was loaned out by the French club Stade Rennes, gave Stuttgart the lead in the 57th minute with a penalty kick. Leverkusen’s Argentinian world champion Exequiel Palacios, who was responsible for the penalty, also equalized with a penalty kick (70′).
The Swabians were initially determined not to run into a Leverkusen counterattack. After all, coach Hoeneß had explicitly pointed out the speed of the Bayer offensive forces before the game. Only gradually did the hosts shift their game a little further forward. Overall, there were hardly any highlights in the slow first half. Bayer had more possession of the ball, but no brilliant ideas offensively.
Vagnoman misses the chance to lead VfB again
In the second half, Palacios involuntarily helped VfB take the lead. The Argentinian fouled VfB captain Wataru Endo on the edge of the penalty area, Guirassy took the penalty – and casually chipped the ball halfway into the middle of the goal to make it 1-0. The striker has “balls to shoot like that in this situation,” said the defeated Hradecky.
Guest coach Alonso reacted and brought in offensive Florian Wirtz for defensive Mitchel Bakker. Bayer also needed a penalty to equalize. After an overly tough effort by VfB goalkeeper Fabian Bredlow against Leverkusen defender Edmond Tapsoba and a long review of the video images, Palacios confidently scored 1-1 in the bottom left corner. Immediately afterwards, Josha Vagnoman had a great chance to take the lead again, but headed wide of the goal from close range. In the end there was a point and a lot of hanging heads on both sides.
Source: Stern
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