Bochum goes under at VfB: Alonso effect fizzles out for Bayer in the debacle

On the 10th match day of the Bundesliga, two clubs that were only just hoping for a fresh start were put to the test: Bayer Leverkusen and VfL Bochum went under again after surprisingly clear victories.

Bochum goes under at VfB: Alonso effect fizzles out for Bayer in the debacle

On the 10th match day of the Bundesliga, two clubs that were only just hoping for a fresh start were put to the test: Bayer Leverkusen and VfL Bochum went under again after surprisingly clear victories. Surprise team Werder Bremen also loses again.

Eintracht Frankfurt - Bayer Leverkusen 5: 1 (1: 0)

Bayer Leverkusen's star coach Xabi Alonso is already having a hard time after the 1: 5 (0: 1) in the Bundesliga game at Eintracht Frankfurt. Three days after the Champions League defeat against FC Porto (0:3), the Werkself experienced a dismantling. In front of 49,700 spectators, Daichi Kamada scored two penalties (45'/72'), Randal Kolo Muani (58'), Jesper Lindström (65') and Lucas Alario (86') for Eintracht. Piero Hincapie scored for the guests (56th), who caused both penalties and saw the yellow-red card around 20 minutes before the end.

Three days after the Champion League game at Tottenham Hotspur (2: 3), the Hessians were well recovered. Strong in the game and with striker Kolo Muani as the main actor and a constant source of danger, the hosts left Leverkusen little room to develop in the 75th Bundesliga duel between the two clubs. The first chance for the agile Frankfurters was Mario Götze, who shot just wide of the left post from 20 meters after five minutes. After that it was mainly Kuolo Mani who challenged the Bayer defense.

The France international had his first major opportunity following a dream pass from Götze, but Hincapie blocked the shot with a last-minute tackle. Then it was Bayer goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky who saved a shot by Kuolo Mani (28') from close range. The Rhinelanders recorded their only chance of the first half through Jeremie Frimpong (33'), who volleyed a precise cross from Moussa Diaby onto the top of the bar.

But then it was Kolo Muani again (41'), who caused danger: after a solo, the Eintracht striker failed again at Hradecky. The former Frankfurt keeper was also the winner in a penalty duel with Kolo Muani shortly before the break. But after the intervention of the video assistant, the penalty kick was repeated because Hradecky was already in front of the goal line when the shot was taken. In the second attempt, Kamada scored confidently.

After the restart, the guests took more initiative, while Eintracht withdrew a bit. This initially paid off when Hincapie headed in to make it 1-1. The goal acted as a wake-up call for the home side, who took the lead again in return. After a cross from Christopher Lenz, Kolo Muani headed in from close range. Bayer gave up when Lindstrom landed a wonderful lob over Hradecky. Especially since a little later Hincapie was sent off and Kamada finished again from the point. The final point was then reserved for the ex-Leverkusener Alario.

VfL Wolfsburg - Borussia Mönchengladbach 2:2 (1:1)

Wherever Borussia Mönchengladbach plays, there is always something going on at the moment. After the 1: 5 at Werder Bremen and the 5: 2 against 1. FC Köln, this time it was only enough for a 2: 2 (1: 1) at VfL Wolfsburg despite leading twice. As a result, Daniel Farke's team failed to improve their place in the Champions League for at least one day. Frenchman Marcus Thuram gave Borussia the lead twice in the 13th and 47th minutes. VfL equalized twice with Yannick Gerhardt (43') and Omar Marmoush (69'). That was deserved because Wolfsburg missed half a dozen more chances in front of 26,701 spectators.

On Niko Kovac's 51st birthday, VfL made every effort to confirm the latest impressions of their new coach. At the beginning of the season it was still a big shortcoming that the "Wolves" didn't create enough chances. But now they leave too many of them unused. That's exactly what Kovac complained about at his press conference on Friday. Against Gladbach, Gerhardt could have given VfL the lead in the 9th minute.

Shortly before the well-deserved equalizer, it even got grotesque: First, Jakub Kaminski shot the ball at an angle in front of the empty goal and only hit the outside of the post (37th). Then Ridle Baku put Gerhardt in a good shooting position again, but he missed the ball in the penalty area (40'). Efficiency was exactly the quality that the Gladbachers had ahead of the "wolves" that day. In the second half, too, Thuram took advantage of the first opportunity to take the lead again after a corner kick from Jonas Hofmann.

Despite the disappointing starting balance of ten points after ten matchdays, this speaks for a certain Wolfsburg development in recent weeks: Kovac's team continues to defend itself after such setbacks and now has the physical qualities again to do so up to the last minute . In the 64th minute, substitute Marmoush missed the goal in front of the Gladbach goal. Just five minutes later, the Egyptian scored from the turn, which is worth seeing. In the end there was even more in it for VfL: But Kevin Paredes failed first after a nice pass by Gladbach goalkeeper Yann Sommer (87th). And shortly thereafter, Marmoush hit the crossbar with a header (88th).

VfB Stuttgart - VfL Bochum 4: 1 (2: 1)

VfB Stuttgart has stopped its sporting descent in the Bundesliga. In the first game after the separation from coach Pellegrino Matarazzo there was a 4:1 (2:1) against VfL Bochum. Under interim coach Michael Wimmer, the Swabians won the trend-setting duel against the tail light on Saturday and leave the relegation places. Bochum suffered another setback after their liberation against Eintracht Frankfurt (3-0) last week.

After nine unsuccessful attempts, the passionate and by no means insecure VfB celebrated their first win of the season. After just three minutes, Silas Katompa Mvumpa's penalty had fans cheering in the stands of the Stuttgart Arena. Naouirou Ahamada extended the lead (22'). Simon Zoller shortened the lead for VfL (29') before Silas added his second goal (64'). Captain Wataru Endo (71st) made the decision.

Wimmer, who was committed to giving commands on the sidelines, had announced that he did not want to change everything. Matarazzo's longtime assistant stuck to the basic order. However, he had to make two changes because Serhou Guirassy and Atakan Karazor were suspended. In addition, Hiroki Ito initially only sat on the bench. Despite the sense of achievement, Wimmer should only be a temporary solution. "None of the two candidates with whom we are still in talks have been made known. That's a good sign," said Stuttgart's CEO Alexander Wehrle before the game on TV broadcaster Sky and a decision in the coming days in prospect placed.

The question marks surrounding VfB didn't seem to paralyze the team. VfB were courageous from the start. Silas, who returned to play on the right, was brought down by Danilo Soares and converted the penalty that was due. Bochum's goalkeeper Manuel Riemann stormed out of his goal and tried to wake up those in front after the early shock. At least the intensity in the duels increased afterwards.

VfB, on the other hand, looked for playful solutions and were as active as in Matarazzo's last game. The difference to the 0-1 draw against 1. FC Union Berlin was that the hosts had luck on their side this time. After a long ball, Riemann misjudged running out. Silas played the ball again and Ahamada scored to make it 2-0.

The guests, with Kevin Stöger replacing Patrick Osterhage in midfield, remained toxic and also rewarded themselves. When a cross came in, VfB goalkeeper Florian Müller shot opponent Simon Zoller. With this goal, VfB set a new negative record. There has been at least one goal conceded in the past 27 home games. This statistic was only a side note, however, since the Stuttgart team survived a pressure phase without damage and on the other side Silas and Endo set more pinpricks. Sentiment was dampened by the injury-related substitution of Konstantinos Mavropanos, who was transported on a stretcher.

SV Werder Bremen - Mainz 05 0: 2 (0: 1)

No Füllkrug goal, no Werder victory: The surprise team from Bremen and their top scorer suffered a setback in the Bundesliga against their new feared opponent. In the 0: 2 (0: 1) against FSV Mainz 05, striker Niclas Füllkrug caught a used day like the entire Werder team and was therefore unable to collect any further plus points from national coach Hansi Flick in the fight for a World Cup ticket. Instead, Marcus Ingvartsen (36th minute) and Jae-Sung Lee (66th) scored in front of 41,000 spectators in the sold-out Weser Stadium for the guests, for whom it was the third win in a row on the Weser.

Werder started energetically and had the first chance through Marvin Ducksch after less than a minute. But unlike the 5-1 gala against Gladbach in the previous home game, Bremen's enthusiasm fizzled out after the first ten minutes. Although the hosts had significantly more ball possession, the green-whites could not capitalize on it. The Mainz defense was good despite a few changes and hardly allowed the dangerous Bremen strike duo of Füllkrug/Ducksch to develop.

In addition, the guests always countered very well and took the lead through Ingvartsen, which was not entirely undeserved. After a nice cross from Danny da Costa, the Dane headed into the Bremen goal. The striker had already scored in the 1-1 draw against Leipzig a week ago. The fact that Jonathan Burkardt had not yet fully recovered did not matter much to the guests. After all, the U21 European champions were back on the bench in the Weser Stadium and came on for Ingvartsen in the middle of the second half.

At this point, Mainz had already extended their lead. Although Werder mostly had the ball in the second half, they didn't know what to do with it. The guests, on the other hand, hit it cold. In the case of a counterattack, the strong Lee was there in the middle and increased to 2:0. Ironically, Lee, who was one of the top performers under Werder coach Ole Werner in Kiel. Werder tried everything again in the closing stages and brought in fresh attacking power in Oliver Burke and Lee Buchanan.

But Werner's measures did not bear any fruit on this dreary October afternoon from Bremen's point of view. Instead of staying in the top group, Werder slipped back into the middle of the table. Also because Füllkrug didn't achieve much in the early stages apart from a blocked shot and even picked up a yellow card in the end for a frustration foul.