Leverkusen drop points in Brittany with 1-1 draw against Brest

Two exciting Champions’ league performances from the defending Bundesliga champions against top opposition didn’t carry over to Bayer 04 Leverkusen’s trip to significantly smaller Ligue 1 side Stade Brestois 29. In the tiny town of Guingamp in Brittany, Xabi Alonso’s side struggled to establish their game against the surprise French sensations. After beating the likes of Feyernoord and AC Milan, Leverkusen now return from a French village with only a point. 

The guessing game on Xabi’s tactical formation ended soon after kickoff as die Werkself settled into a 3-4-3 formation. Nigerian attacker Nathan Tella – despite his recent requests to play higher up – filled in at right wingback yet again. Xabi’s Germans maintained a slight optical advantage in the opening twenty minutes, but the ball mostly remained bogged down in midfield as the two teams felt one another out. Jonas Hofmann – eager to prove himself worthy of more minutes – saw an effort blocked in the 13th before shooting an effort wide in the 19th. 

Hofmann did manage to collect an assist credit on the opening goal in the 24th. The former German international cut back for Flor Wirtz on a seemingly innocuous play. Wirtz happened to notice that Brest keeper Marco Bizot was rushing off his line unnecessarily and calmly rolled the ball into the back of the net from the edge of the box. Germany’s red company team took the 1-0 lead in fairly unspectacular fashion. After a couple of missed chances involving Wirtz, Brest would score the equalizer via an exquisite piece of skill. 

Midfielder Pierre Lees Melou plucked a cross out of midair in the 39th, thundering home a lovely first time finish for the 1-1. Buoyed by an engaged home crowd, the Lique 1 outfit carried their confidence over from the first half to the second. Lees-Melou flashed an excellent effort just over in the 50th. The German champions were suddenly back on their heels and had great difficulty getting the ball off their hosts, even with a high and aggressive press. Brest continued to try their luck from distance, with Kenny Lala narrowly missing the lead in the 66th.

A period of heavy substitutions, and a VAR check over a potential handball penalty, took a great deal of the air out of the match for a while. The only major occurrence of note prior to the final minutes came when Mahdi Camara blasted another distance effort in Kovar’s direction in the 76th. The Bayer keeper had to be on his toes to deflect the effort over the crossbar. Xabi eventually brought on most of his first team players, but the German champs were never really able to wrest back control of the match. 

There were shouts for a penalty in the 89th when Dortmund loanee Soumaïla Coulibaly appeared to take out Hofmann in the box. A lengthy VAR check nevertheless ultimately confirmed match official Ivan Kruzliak’s decision. There would be no penalty for the German guests. There would also be no further chances apart from one last effort from Wirtz at 90+6. The German phenom – who generally did not play a strong match – skied over whilst attempting to hit a ball off the volley.