Penultimate place in the Bundesliga, the dream of winning the cup in the first round ended by a promoted third division team and only two wins in eleven competitive games: it’s been a real horror season for Bayer Leverkusen so far.
In the games on Tuesday in the Champions League at FC Porto (9 p.m. / DAZN) and on Saturday in the league against FC Schalke 04, Gerardo Seoane has to deliver results to secure his job. But Bayer’s crisis is not just the coach’s crisis. These are the problem areas of Leverkusen:
Dropouts from Lukas Hradecky: The Finn is a regular goalkeeper, captain and actually a crowd favourite. But his three mistakes in the last five games and his strange dismissal on the first matchday in Dortmund also cause discussions among the fans. Hradecky is supposed to provide security, but is currently only causing even more uncertainty.
calm in the storm
For many, Patrik Schick seemed the logical Bundesliga top scorer this season after the departures of Robert Lewandowski and Erling Haaland. He had scored 24 league goals last year. This time it’s two after eight games, and he’s still goalless in the Champions League.
Moussa Diaby’s loss of effectiveness is also dramatic. Last year, the Frenchman was involved in 31 goals as a shooter or assist provider. Only three this year. In the league he is still without any goals.
Absence of Wirtz
It’s unbelievable how dependent Bayer is on this teenager. As the creative head of the team, Wirtz is missing from all corners this season after his cruciate ligament rupture in March. What is surprising, however, is that in the final phase of last season, the team had managed to make up for Wirtz’s absence excellently.
Unfortunate transfer phase
The contracts with the coveted Schick, Wirtz and Diaby extended, in which Adam Hlozek, courted by many top clubs, signed one of the most sought-after talents in Europe – at first glance, Bayer’s transfer phase in the summer seemed to be a success.
But club boss Fernando Carro recently admitted: The team was fed too little fresh blood overall. And on the other hand, many players who were supposed to leave couldn’t get rid of them. While the bond with Paulinho was torn over the transfer debate, players like Nadiem Amiri or Charles Aranguiz have to play again and again, even though they had already mentally said goodbye to the club.
