Champions League: Bayer Leverkusen flip the script on Atletico Madrid but have they turned the corner?

The ruthless exposure of a previously undetected weakness, a denial of chances to the opposition for long stretches of the match and a narrow victory. The script for the visit of Atletico Madrid to Bayer Leverkusen may have been predictable but the actors were playing against type.

After a performance in Madrid last time out that promised plenty but delivered nothing, Leverkusen came in to this one knowing defeat would be the end, another early exit for a club that haven’t made the quarterfinal of a European competition since 2008. Just as they had in Spain, Peter Bosz’s men made most of the running but for quite some time their play was a little slow, their passes a little off.

But crucially, they had something else to try, a new route of attack. In his spells both here and at Borussia Dortmund, Bosz has been regarded as something of an ideologue, a man whose attacking principles sometimes come at the cost of points. But here, his side outmanoeuvred Diego Simeone’s men, and turned one of Atleti’s greatest strengths in to a weakness.

“I’m happy about the win but also how we played,” said Bosz after the game. “We were the better team, we played courageously and were well organized.”

“We were snappy in our tackles and defended compact. Exactly what we wanted to do,” added Kevin Volland, emphasizing qualities which Leverkusen often lack.

The home side won a succession of corners in the first half, Kai Havertz often forcing them after drifting in to space on the right. Again and again, Kerem Demirbay or Nadiem Amiri whipped the ball in to the six yard box, in a position usually regarded as too close to the keeper to pose much of a threat.

The danger zone

After a couple of failures, Amiri found his range in the 38th minute and saw Felipe head on to his own bar. Three minutes later, Demirbay hit his mark. Atleti’s keepr Jan Oblak scrambled to keep the ball from dropping in at his near post, Charles Aranguiz looped the ball back in and Thomas Partey inexplicably buried a header past his Slovenian teammate. It may not have worked quite as intended, but it worked.

And it didn’t stop working. After Kevin Volland’s smart control, spin and finish deservedly doubled the Bundesliga side’s lead in the 55th minute, there was almost a repeat of the Partey own goal trick before Havertz flicked on to the roof of the net from yet another corner.

There was no subterfuge here, Leverkusen had found Atleti’s Achilles’ heel, and they had the archers to fire the arrows. They wanted their opponents to know it and frustrated them to the point where a late corner turned in to an almighty penalty box scuffle.

“It caused them a problem every time and we had so many men in the area today that we forced the own goal. It’s really nice to get results from corners,” Leverkusen keeper Lukas Hradecky told DW after the game.

Though Amiri needlessly turned his bow on himself five minutes from time to get sent off and Alvaro Morata made the BayArena crowd a touch nervy in injury time, Leverkusen live to fight another matchday, though closing the four point gap to Wednesday’s opponents won’t be easy.

Things rarely are around here. Leverkusen have shown themselves to be masters of inconsistency in recent seasons and recent weeks. The talent has always been there, the discipline and the plan not so much.

Corners were their unlikely trump card here but the real question is whether this win signifies the turning of one or just another detour. Is Bosz now a man with more than one plan?

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  Biggest defeat in a decade

  Saturday’s 5-1 loss to Eintracht Frankfurt was Bayern’s heaviest since 2009 and left them four points off the pace in the Bundesliga, a league they’ve won for the last seven years. After the defeat, goalkeeper Manuel Neuer was scathing, saying the result had been coming and he expected a “turbulent” next few days at the club. He wasn’t wrong.

• Niko Kovac: The key moments that led to his Bayern Munich exit

  Misfiring Müller

  Thomas Müller was one of those who started the Frankfurt defeat as Kovac looked to re-integrate one of the totems of the Bavarian side. Müller, who hasn’t scored in the league since last season, had made it clear he wasn’t happy to have been relegated to a bit part role by the loan signing of Philippe Coutinho. Time will tell whether the new coach rates him.

• Niko Kovac: The key moments that led to his Bayern Munich exit

  Süle’s injury exposes defense

  Bayern also have big problems at the other end of the pitch, having failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their last eight games. Those issues have been exacerbated since Niklas Süle picked up a season-ending injury last month. That led to a recall for an aging Jerome Boateng, sent off early on Saturday, a series of unconvincing makeshift options and questions about the sale of Mats Hummels.

• Niko Kovac: The key moments that led to his Bayern Munich exit

  Boardroom battles

  Like most Bayern coaches, Kovac has sometimes found himself a pawn in the political battles at the top of the club. The Croatian was considered the choice of president Uli Hoeness (left) and not a favorite of Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. A bizarre press conference last October where the pair and sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic attacked the media and did Kovac few favors in the public perception.

• Niko Kovac: The key moments that led to his Bayern Munich exit

  Failure to land Sane

  The strangely public pursuit of Leroy Sane before this season begun ended when the Manchester City and Germany winger sustained a serious injury in the Community Shield, the curtain raiser to the English season. Lacking the statement signing that they wanted, the club moved for Croatia’s Ivan Perisic on loan.

• Niko Kovac: The key moments that led to his Bayern Munich exit

  Departure of legends

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• Niko Kovac: The key moments that led to his Bayern Munich exit

  Outclassed by Klopp

  Though Kovac eventually overhauled Borussia Dortmund to win the Bundesliga title before completing the domestic double, a humbling 3-1 home defeat to Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool in the Champions League last 16 suggested Kovac’s side were some way from the top level. With domestic success expected, Europe is huge for Bayern but even a perfect record this season couldn’t save Kovac.

• Niko Kovac: The key moments that led to his Bayern Munich exit

  Defeat in first Klassiker

  After a bllistering start to his Bayern reign comprising four straight league wins, Kovac hit a sticky patch between matchdays 6 and 11 last season. A 3-2 defeat to Bayern Munich on November 10 made it just seven points from six games as BVB flew in to a big early lead. Bayern would eventually overhaul their rivals but the skeptics were already starting to note his weaknesses.

  Author: Matt Pearson

Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/champions-league-bayer-leverkusen-flip-the-script-on-atletico-madrid-but-have-they-turned-the-corner/a-51143545?maca=en-rss-en-sports-1027-xml-atom