Lucas Piazon and Felix Wiedwald received their official farewell ahead of the match as they will be leaving SGE. Manager Thomas Schaaf brought on youngster Waldschmidt up-front alongside Seferovic. Marco Russ featured in defensive midfield with Hasebe while Zambrano and Madlung built the central defense.
CRACKING START
The Eagles scored right from the first chance when Seferovic was through on goal and kept his cool with a neat finish (4’). The early lead did not stand long though as only two minutes later Bellarabi enjoyed some space at the edge of the box and had a go – Kevin Trapp was left without chance as the ball went to the top left corner of the goal (6’). And only moments after the equalizer it was Calhanoglou who had a major chance inside the box but hit the post, Zambrano cleared the ball.
After this furious start the match calmed down a tad and both teams tried to grab hold of the match with a little more possession recorded for Bayer. Seferovic had a go from the edge of the box but his shot was blocked (16’), at the other end Calhanoglou put a direct free-kick from the left over the bar (21’). Chandler was booked for the foul just before. Then it was again Bellarabi who tried it from long range but also put the ball over the bar (24’).
BAYER ON THE UP – SGE SCORE
Bayer had the better of the game now with the Eagles defending deep looking to come forward on the break. But at around half an hour into the match SGE showed some decent build-up play as well, Waldschmidt and Seferovic were unlucky with their last pass or with connecting with the ball. At the other end Leverkusen had a few chances with long range efforts but did not cause too much danger for Kevin Trapp.
From a corner #SGE took the lead again, it was Alex Madlung who was at hand when a ball inside the box came off a Bayer defender, he hit home from close range – 2-1 Eagles (39’)! Eintracht did well to get the lead into half time as they did not allow Bayer any further chances ahead of the break, the 2-1 score line stood. The first half ball possession was nearly even by now (49%-51%), Bayer recorded more shots (9) than SGE (3), the Eagles proved clinical in converting their chances.
RE-START
No substitutions were used at either end going into the second half. Leverkusen won a couple of free-kicks but to no effect, at the other end Madlung was caught offside following a set piece situation. No major opportunities were to report at either end. A decent chance fell again to Madlung who had a go with a header from an Oczipka free-kick cross but put it over the bar (57’). Marco Russ had a run into the box but was not able to control the ball after all, it could have been a promising chance.
At the other end Kevin Trapp was kept busy with a one-on-one and a few saves from long range shots. Aigner did well to play forward on the right a couple of times, he set up Stendera who saw Waldschmidt free on goal in the middle but put his pass a touch to close to Bayer keeper Leno (67’). A couple minutes later Waldschmidt was replaced by Valdez (69’) and received standing ovations for his great performance.
LIVELY FINISH
Wendell had a go after a fast break from the edge of the box but put his shot well over the bar; at the other end Seferovic had a great chance inside the five yard box but was denied by Leno. Immediately following was a counter attack of Bayer with Bellarabi mis-controlling a pass in front of Trapp instead of trying to score – two big scoring opportunities at both ends (74’).
Meanwhile Flum had come on for Stendera (79’), Schaaf also replaced Aigner with Ignjovski (81’). The crowd of 51,500 (sell-out) cheered on the team in a thrilling last matchday atmosphere. They were also cheering on Alex Meier as it became more and more obvious that he would become Bundesliga top scorer on 19 goals despite being out with an injury. And the home win stood! After all SGE beat Champions League contenders Bayer Leverkusen with a great team performance.
Eintracht finish 9th in the standings which is a great achievement looking at plenty of key players leaving ahead of the season and a new coaching team coming in. Over the course of 2014/15 they had to cope with plenty of injuries so the outcome is a very good one. The fans cheered on the team and also of course Alex Meier – the Bundesliga top scorer 2014/15!
