Match date: 14 February 2015

Bayer Leverkusen have spent much of the season in the Champions League spots in the Bundesliga, but have recently dropped to fifth and sixth after dropping points against Werder Bremen and Borussia Dortmund since returning from the winter break. Against Wolfsburg, Schmidt had just one of his usual four defenders in the back line of his 4-2-3-1, with Boenisch, Papadopoulos, and Hilbert all starting alongside Shapic.

While Leverkusen have been consistent throughout the season (despite their recent struggles), Wolfsburg struggled in the opening stages of the season, but have climbed the table and have managed to maintain their position in second place since matchday ten.

Leverkusen’s Defence Exposed

With just one regular in the back four, Bayer Leverkusen certainly struggled when Wolfsburg were on the attack. Bas Dost, who ended up bagging four goals, was given far too much space in the Leverkusen penalty area to get on the end of crosses, however, the struggle began further up the field as Schmidt and Leverkusen’s pressing was ineffective. Just six minutes into the match, Bas Dost scored a good headed goal after a cross from Vieirinha, Wolfsburg’s right back. The amount of space that the Portuguese defender found was a continuing trend and Wolfsburg could have gotten a second goal just a few minutes after Bas Dost’s opener, but Schürrle’s effort was disallowed as the German was ruled offside. Below is a perfect example of Vieirinha in the space because of Leverkusen’s very narrow counter pressing, which forced Son to shift to the opposite side.

Even when Leverkusen were better balanced horizontally, they struggled to stay compact vertically and Wolfsburg played incredibly fast paced and direct football to get beyond Leverkusen’s intense pressing, which caught Castro and Bender too high up the pitch, which exposed Leverkusen’s already weakened back line. even in the screen capture above, you can see the back four are each in a 1v1 situation. Below you can see those 1v1s that Leverkusen’s back four is situated into again as well as the amount of space between the back four and Castro and Bender.

Wolfsburg’s passing was quick and direct, their dribbling was effective, and their final ball was usually the right decision. By half time, they were 3-0 up, but had only had four shots on goal, which highlighted the ebb and flow of the match and efficiency of Wolfsburg.

Schmidt Makes Three Changes

With his side down 3-0 at halftime, Roger Schmidt made all three of his changes during halftime. Perhaps the changes were not made in an effort to get back into the match and were more so a chance to rest Bender, Calhanoglu, and Kiessling, but regardless, the changes were effective, but also risky with injury always possible. Leverkusen began the second half on the front foot, they put a huge amount of pressure on Wolfsburg, who were contend with their 3-0 lead and looked complacent in their play, which aided Leverkusen’s come back.

Leverkusen looked to be near their best, with their direct, pacy play pushing Wolfsburg deep. Leverkusen’s passing was sloppy, but because their pressing was much better, they were able to get a second chance at many of their attacks, with Son’s first goal being a perfect example. Wolfsburg cleared the ball from their penalty area, but Bas Dost was unable to hold the ball up, Leverkusen won it back and with three passes, Bellarabi’s shot, and Son’s poke, Leverkusen pulled a goal back. So while Leverkusen’s passing was just as sloppy as the first half, Wolfsburg lack of urgency allowed Leverkusen’s pressing to become more effective. Son’s second goal was a good example of Leverkusen’s less than spectacular passing with Papadopoulos playing a long ball forward into Son as well as Rodriguez and Knoche, making the Leverkusen attacker second best, but a few good touches and a poor decision by Benaglio allowed Son to bringing Leverkusen to 3-2 and the same could be said about Leverkusen’s fourth goal, which brought them level.

Leverkusen Down to 10, Wolfsburg Win

An incredibly exciting second half saw Leverkusen get two goals back and just a minute after Son’s second goal, Wolfsburg scored another through Dost after a good cross by Rodriguez from the left. Son then scored a third just a few minutes later and then Bellarabi scored to make it 4-4. After a relative lull in the match, Spahic got sent off for his second yellow of the match, leaving Leverkusen down to 10 men and without a chance to bring on another defender to secure an already weakened defensive line.

At that point, Wolfsburg began having much more possession and Leverkusen were committing fouls regularly and Wolfsburg were able to find success in the wide areas once again, as they had for all of their goals from open play. Vieirinha again found space, put in a dangerous cross, and, not for the first time during the match, Bas Dost got away from Papadopoulos and beat Leno.

Conclusion

One of the most entertaining matches of the season in any league. It was an extremely well fought comeback by Leverkusen, but a lot of their principles that have made them successful were ineffective for a lot of the match. Their pressing was off for much of the match, their attacking options were not as potent, and their defence lacked balance, allowing Wolfsburg to take a huge advantage.

Wolfsburg did not play amazingly in the first half, but they exploited Leverkusen’s weaknesses in the wide areas and Bas Dost had an excellent game inside of the Leverkusen penalty area. His movement and anticipation were that of a top striker and obviously his winning goal showed this and won his side all three points.