Florian Wirtz on the bench: traffic jam causes excitement at Leverkusen!

Florian Wirtz on the bench: traffic jam causes excitement at Leverkusen!

On January 10, 2025, Bayer 04 Leverkusen will show an impressive performance and wins 3: 2 against Borussia Dortmund in Signal Iduna Park. This marks the ninth competitive game in a row for the team of coach Xabi Alonso. The game started with a delay of 15 minutes because of a minute's memorial to the late club icon Teddy de Beer. The guests disappointed the home team, which will suffer the first defeat in their own stadium this season and stay far behind the top of the table.

The game started furiously: Nathan Tella put Leverkusen in the lead after 25 seconds. Patrik Schick followed up with two goals in the 8th and 19th minute, while Dortmund was able to shorten Jamie Gitten in the 12th minute. In the further course, Serhou Guirassy achieved a penalty for Dortmund in the 78th minute, which corrected the result to 2: 3. The Dortmund team competed strongly as several players had failed.

discussion about Florian Wirtz

The focus of the discussion is Florian Wirtz, who had to spend the entire first half on the bench. Alonso said Wirtz was not in the starting eleven due to "negligence and unhappy circumstances". Wirtz and Exequiel Palacios came to the team meeting too late because the A1 bridge was closed due to the falling ice parts. This meant that Wirtz could not take part in the team meeting, which explained his non -consideration in the starting eleven.

Simon Rolfes, the sports director of Bayer Leverkusen, supported Alonsos' decision in order not to disturb the routine on the match day. Wirtz, who was substituted in the 63rd minute, made a decisive contribution to stabilizing the game when the BVB urged the equalization. It is expected that he will be in the starting eleven against Mainz next Tuesday.

Dortmund's trainer sees deficits

Dortmund coach Nuri Sahin commented critically about the performance of his team after the game. He questioned the defensive order and the early goals that brought his players into difficulty. In addition, Dortmund came with two debutants in the initial formation, Yannik Lührs (21) and Almugara Kabar (18). These changes show the association's personal problems.

Leverkusen not only shows a strong team performance, but also sends a clear sign to the league. The upcoming games will show whether the team can maintain this form while Dortmund has to question itself to get back on track. On Tuesday, Bayer will be the next duel against the 1st FSV Mainz 05, while Dortmund plays against Holstein Kiel.

The current Bundesliga season is peppered with surprises and exciting encounters right at the beginning of the new year, which give a foretaste of the upcoming challenges of the clubs.