Leverkusen back in business as they dispatch Hoffenheim at the PreZero #2307
Leverkusen 4 Hoffenheim 2FT
PreZero Arena, Sinhiem
On Saturday afternoon it would be Hoffenheim clashing with Leverkusen. We are in the smallest city in the Bundesliga. Hoffenheim in the grand scheme of things is miniscule. In comparison to the other Bundesliga counterparts. The city itself has only 3,200 population. In the region of Sinheim, there is a population of 35,219. There are 2,056 cities in Germany Sinheim is in the bottom 20. They are the smallest populated city in Germany’s football pyramid. Quite surprising considering Hoffenheim has a good reputation in German football. This region is so small that you could fit 90% of the entire population inside of the PreZero Arena which has a capacity of a little over 30,000. This city isn’t exactly a tourist hotbed. In fact, any tourist that travels to Germany would hardly consider Hoffenheim as a place to visit. Visiting fans and residents make up the entire city every week. It is not free of landmarks, The First one would be the Burg Steinberg which is a tower. They also have a museum called the Kilma Arena It is a museum that is related to topics surrounding climate change and has an indoor exhibition and outdoor theme park with a lot to discover about the climate. That would have to be a very specific interest of yours to come there, but for those that do this would be a thing to do in the city. The last thing would be Technikmuseum It is a technology museum opened in 1981. It is run by a registered association called Auto and Technic which also runs a nearby museum. As of 2004, the museum had more than 3,000 exhibits and an exhibition area of more than 5400,000 ft² indoors and outdoors in addition to exhibits, the museum has an IMAX 3D theater that receives more than 1 million visitors per year. It is the largest privately owned museum in Europe. So obviously that would be the main attraction to Hoffenheim. However, considering the size of the city, the tourism isn’t exactly booming. It happens to be a lovely city, but it is not the location of tourist mania. Hoffenheim After a very impressive victory to start the season took a loss against Frankfurt As they look to avoid dropping two consecutive games. Hoffenheim has been very reliant was Andrei Kramaric As he has scored all of their goals this season. The departure of Max Beier has made it difficult on top of some of the defensive issues at home this evening Hoffenheim to test themselves and try to make it as uncomfortable as possible for the Bundesliga Champions. On the other side of the coin, Leverkusen has taken a two-goal lead in each of their first two games as there seems to be a little bit of cracks in the pavement. Leipzig ended their unbeaten streak last time out as Wirtz seemingly looked as if he had to do everything all by himself. Leverkusen certainly hoping for a much sharper performance as they head out on the road To get back in the win column against Hoffenheim. Last season Hoffenheim was one of the teams that nearly had them on the ropes. It will be a good testing point for both sides as kickoff approaches at the Pre-zero Arena in Sinheim.
Hoffenheim very much wants to start on the front foot. However, Leverkusen won themselves in an early corner. In the third minute. It was delivered to new signing Martin Terrier he strikes it at a complicated angle. 5 minutes later in the 8th minute, they got themselves yet another corner. As the visitors continue to push the ball into the attacking areas. The ball is delivered into space by Wirtz He finds Edmond Tapsoba As he gets his head on the end of it it drags wide. Hoffenheim wanted to show that they had the quality to fight against the grain. In the 13th minute Alexander Prass releases Marius Butler from close range he tries to maneuver from a tight space before Lukas Hradecky makes the safe. Hoffenheim comes right back as Anton Stach rips one from distance Lukas Hradecky Is there once more. However, eventually, Hoffenheim's poor defensive shape was going to come back and haunt them. In the 17th minute, an unorganized back line gets torn apart. Victor Boniface makes an excellent run before releasing Martin Terrier slicing it into the back of the next past Oliver Baumann Leverkusen takes a 1-0 lead as he opens up his account. Hoffenheim awakened the beast Leverkusen with a confidence builder after losing last week and looked much more antagonizing to deal with. In the 30th minute, the inevitable came a reality again Granit Xhaka drags a through ball forward as Victor Boniface chases it down. The Nigerian Striker cut into the box leaving The defense for dead maneuvering around two blue shirts before sending a pile driver into the back of the net as they take a 2-0 lead. They have taken a two-goal lead in each of the first three games This time though, hoping to hold it much better. Hoffenheim having dug themselves in a hole now needed to take some calculated risks to get themselves back in it. They possess the right attacking players they just had to make it click. In the 33rd minute, Dennis Geiger takes a well-timed effort that lifts over the corner. As Hoffenheim to put just a little bit more pressure. A minute later Florian Grillitsch tries to unload one from a distance but can't find it. They would find a lifeline in the 37th minute Andrej Kramaric supplied a headed pass for Mërgim Berisha The Turkish attacker followed through on his first touch putting it in the back of the net as Hoffenheim managed to minimize the deficit.
Leverkusen has been sharp in many aspects. However, the defensive position needs to be a bit better, especially from the Bundesliga Champions. In the 38th minute, Hoffenheim tries to capitalize again Anton Stach strikes from distance Lukas Hradecky comes up with the save. Leverkusen with a poor attempt to clear it, it goes back into the box Mërgim Berisha Hits a header into the back of the neck, however fortunately for Leverkusen, He is offside. Wirtz Again to a degree has been doing a lot of the work in Midfield As he has been at the center of most of the things happening for the visitors. However, this organization defensively was certainly on alert after nearly seeing them collapse. In the 45th minute, Victor Boniface strikes from distance as he takes a low strike towards the corner but it is saved by Oliver Baumann putting an end to the first half with Leverkusen holding on to a 2-1 lead in what was a very hectic and dramatic first half of play.
Leverkusen has been the better of the two sides but it has been very open during the first half. Wirtz Again has been excellent in Midfield as he continues to show that this season he is still the best player in the league. However, this time he is getting some assistance in attack with Victor Boniface coming off a really good performance so far. On this occasion, it's the defense that needs to be pulled into question. Hoffenheim looks to work it inside at the very start of the second half. In the 49th minute, Pavel Kaderábek finds a bit of space from close range but this time the defense handles it as his strike is deflected. Wirtz continues to run the show from Central Midfield. He looks to try to link it together with the attack to make them just that little bit more dangerous. hoping to pull away as soon as they can. The German magician facilitates a Robert Andrich As he rips an effort from distance Oliver Baumann comes up with the save again. Victor Boniface tries the follow-up as it gets blocked then Martin Terrier takes it from the left side but it hooks over the corner here. They very easily could have got themselves A third goal there. In the 62nd minute, Andrej Kramaric coming off a free kick tries to curl it in the corner. He has good power on it but mishandles the touch slightly as Hoffenheim unable to find the equalizer. In the 72nd minute, Alex Grimaldo is taken down in the box. The referee points to the penalty spot. Wirtz steps up to take the penalty. He steps up and slices it into the bottom left corner. A perfect penalty as Leverkusen takes a 3-1 lead As the reigning player of the season scores, his 3rd goal of the campaign. In the 75th minute, Jermaine Fringpong delivers a ball on the break to Victor Boniface again the Nigerian how skillful he is with the ball at his feet going through a couple of blue shirts before sending another one into the back of the neck to pull off his brace. The second goal of the Season for the Nigerian Hitman as Leverkusen takes a 4-1 lead Leverkusen has done all the heavy lifting. With time winding down Hoffenheim, trying to at least get another goal on the board before the final whistle. In the 82nd minute, Jacob Bruun Larsen Hits a well-taken strike Lukas Hradecky gets there with no problem. A minute later Tom Bischof delivers a ball into the box for Marius Butler But his header flies wide. Hoffenheim continued to look for a possibility of getting a goal back, but it just didn't amount to it. The full-time whistle goes as Leverkusen are back in business with an emphatic 4-1 victory.
Leverkusen finally put together a perfectly placed performance on their way to another three points. Although it wasn't perfect for the most part Leverkusen handled themselves extremely well under the circumstances. Hoffenheim is an incredibly dangerous attacking team, especially when they have space. This was never going to be a walk in the park. They swam through the little bit of adversity that they were hit with. Hoffenheim scored a second goal shortly after they scored their first, however they were played offside. They were bailed out in a way and ever since that moment there was no looking back. Leverkusen was excellent. There's certainly things that need to be cleaned up but collectively speaking they were really strong and kept growing with confidence as it went on. Victor Boniface was excellent assisted the first and then scored two more of his own. Possibly even outshined Wirtz which is hard to do as the German playmaker was sensational with a goal and an assist and the overall creativity and danger he created from Midfield. Martian Terrier showed the quality. He has scored His first Bundesliga brace in the process. Leverkusen invincibility May have been broken however their ambitions for the title still very much in the balance. They were never going to be gone for long considering the overall quality that they possess. On the flip side, Hoffenheim's defense was horrid and couldn't deal with any of the attacking pieces that they could push forward when needed. Leverkusen aren't back because they never left. This is still the favorite for the title and this was probably their first fluid victory from start to finish. it will only give them more confidence and momentum to push forward and recreate what they did last season things are only going to start heating up though. After a Champions League battle this week, they will have Wolfsburg. Not an easy one but one they can handle and then the big one against Bayern Munich. The way the team is put together they should win all of those games. However, all of us will have the Bayern Munich battle circled, but all this did was showed us that they are exactly who they are. However, big questions have to be asked surrounding the defense. It was absolutely horrid leaving it far too open and basically allowed Victor Boniface to dance all over their grave. Hoffenheim has the potential from an attacking perspective to be really good this season. however, if they do not fix the defensive issues, they're going to run into big problems. the attacking quality won't even matter at that point The defense was horrendous and something that needs to be fixed immediately. unfortunately, they take their second loss out of their first three games. Next time out they will be away at Union Berlin. Easier said than done but is winnable. Leverkusen In the end, blows by half an hour earning a 4-1 victory on Saturday night in Sinheim.
