Bayer Leverkusen has suffered a severe setback in the exciting battle for the last Champions League ticket to be awarded and has opened up a great opportunity for its direct competitor Eintracht Frankfurt. The Werkself had to be content with a 1:1 (1:0) victory against Schalke 04 on the penultimate matchday and missed the opportunity to put the Frankfurt team under pressure. In addition, Bayer had to let its western rival Borussia Mönchengladbach pass by.
Leverkusen overtook Eintracht for the time being, but the Hessians can overtake Bayer again three days after their unfortunate semi-final finish in the Europa League on Sunday evening against FSV Mainz 05.
Guido Burgstaller (47th) saved Schalke, who had made the class retention perfect last Sunday, a happy point. Kai Havertz (31.) had put Bayer in the lead at the celebrations to mark the 40th anniversary of the Werkself in the Bundesliga.
One week after the furious 6-1 win against Frankfurt, Bayer left no doubt from the start as to who the master of the house was. In front of 30,210 spectators in the sold-out Bayer Arena, Bayer put Schalke under permanent pressure in his smart retro jerseys. The visitors could hardly get out of their own half and were lucky that Aluminium prevented a goal twice in the twelfth minute. Charles Aranguiz hit the bar first, Julian Brandt put the rebound on the post.
Six minutes later, the strong Aranguiz again had the Bayer lead on his feet. Schalke had almost nothing to oppose and watched the hustle and bustle of the workself helplessly. However, coach Peter Bosz’s team could not capitalise on their oppressive superiority. Brandt, Kevin Volland and Lucas Alario missed good opportunities before Havertz took the deserved lead with a massive direct inspection. For the international it was already the 16th goal of the season.
