Bundesliga 2019/20: Werder Bremen vs Bayer Leverkusen

In the final 90 minutes of the first Bundesliga matchday since the league’s return, Werder Bremen hosted Bayer Leverkusen in a matchup of two clubs at opposite ends of the table. Bremen have had an overall disastrous campaign after starting the season with European aspirations, while Leverkusen have scored the fifth-most goals in the league and are in the midst of a heated Bundesliga title race. This tactical analysis will dissect how Leverkusen were able to outplay Bremen on both sides of the ball.

Lineups

Bremen manager Florian Kohfeldt had to make do without a few usual starters, most notably Davy Klaassen who was suspended on yellow card accumulation. Theodor Gebre Selassie, Miloš Veljković, Niklas Moisander, and Marco Friedl made up the back four, with Kevin Vogt dropping back centrally at times to form a back five. Philipp Bargfrede and Maximilian Eggestein supported Leonardo Bittencourt, Davie Selke, and Milot Rashica in attack.

Despite Kevin Volland and Lars Bender sitting out with injuries, Leverkusen had the depth to still start a strong lineup. Mitchell Weiser, Edmond Tapsoba, Sven Bender, and Daley Sinkgraven started in defence, with a midfield of Charles Aránguiz, Kerem Demirbay, and Nadiem Amiri in front of them. Manager Peter Bosz opted to start Kai Havertz up top, with Florian Wirtz and Moussa Diaby beside him. 17-year-old Wirtz became the third-youngest player to debut in Bundesliga history after signing from FC Köln in January.