Highlights

Matchday 12

FINAL

wohninvest WESERSTADION

Bayer 04 Leverkusen

76'

GrimaldoAlejandro Grimaldo

42'

FrimpongJeremie Frimpong

DemanOlivier Deman

M. Petersen

wohninvest WESERSTADION

0:24

Watch: Grimaldo: "I have a lot of confidence in my shooting ability"

0:23

Watch: Alonso: "We played with good control"

90'

+ 3

Full-time: Werder 0-3 Leverkusen

Bayer Leverkusen returned to the top of the Bundesliga following an 11th victory in 12 Bundesliga games. The visitors might not have been at their free-flowing best at the Weserstadion but they did more than enough to claim three points thanks to an Olivier Deman o.g., Jeremie Frimpong's first-half strike and yet another Alejandro Grimaldo goal. Happy Birthday Xabi Alonso indeed.

Full-time

Grimaldo soaring

Bayer's No. 20 has scored at least one goal in his last five Bundesliga away games, a sequence that no Leverkusen player has ever managed before.

90'

Speed check: The fastest player in the game after 90 minutes

Through high-end camera technology and machine learning, the speed of each player is evaluated in real time. Top speed then means, the fastest measured single frame of a player/game.

Piero Martin Hincapie Reyna33.92km/h

Jeremie Agyekum Frimpong33.45km/h

Romano Schmid32.91km/h

89'

Substitution

Nadiem Amiri

Jonas Hofmann

89'

Substitution

Gustavo Puerta

Granit Xhaka

85'

Werder hit the woodwork

Justin Njinmah races through on the right and wallops a shot at the target which batters off the crossbar. Unlucky.

83'

Substitution

Niklas Stark

Anthony Jung

83'

Substitution

Senne Lynen

Romano Schmid

82'

Goal disallowed

Adli sees a deflected shot from close range bounce into the net but the assistant's flag is raised for offside.

82'

Double swap

It's time for Frimpong and Wirtz to be given a rest. Nathan Tella and Adam Hložek are on for B04.

81'

Substitution

Nathan Tella

Jeremie Frimpong

81'

Substitution

Adam Hložek

Florian Wirtz

76'

Grimaldo booked

Leverkusen's on-fire full-back is booked for an over-exuberant celebration.

76'

B04 home and dry

It's a third goal for Leverkusen as Alex Grimaldo is allowed the freedom of the Weserstadion to race down the left. The Spain international waltzes into the Bremen box before hitting a rising finish into the net for 3-0. That's his seventh goal of the season!

76'

Yellow card

Alejandro Grimaldo

76'

Alejandro Grimaldo

GOAL!

0:3

Goal probability

Goal probability determines the likelihood that the ball will land in the goal from every position on the pitch. The value is based on large amounts of data from previous years; factors such as shot angle, distance to goal and opponent pressure - as well as mathematical models.

14 %

Shot speed

Shot speed describes the maximum speed in km/h that a ball reaches in a shot on goal. The distance is measured from the location of the shot to the centre of the goal.

89.25 km/h

Distance to Goal

The distance to goal is measured at the time of the shot - from the position of the ball to the center of the goal.

11.9 m

72'

Changes all around

Xabi Alonso has taken Victor Boniface off with Amine Adli coming on for the visitors. Werder, meanwhile, have thrown Woltemade and Njinmah into the mix.

72'

Substitution

Justin Njinmah

Leonardo Bittencourt

72'

Substitution

Nick Woltemade

Rafael Borré

71'

Substitution

Amine Adli

Victor Boniface

68'

Leverkusen counter

Hofmann finds Xhaka, who in turn plays in Boniface as Leverkusen mount a dangerous counter attack. Boniface's shot is blocked wide of the target.

66'

Bayer more likely

xGoals

The xGoals value of a club is calculated from the sum of all goal probabilities (goals and shots on goal) of that team. During a match, it’s easy to see whether the club is performing better than expected (goals > xGoals) - or maybe even higher (xGoals > goals).

Werder are enjoying a decent spell right now but it's still their opponents who are deemed the likelier to score the game's next goal.

xGoals

0.17

0.6

Goals

63'

Werder denied

Ducksch has the ball in the net but Schmid was an inch offside in the build-up. It goes to a VAR check, which leaves Werder frustrated. There was next to nothing in that. Bayer remain 2-0 in front.

62'

SituationNo goal

ReviewOffside?

DecisionNo goal

61'

Ducksch frustration

The Bremen forward tries to twist and turn his way into position inside the Leverkusen box and eventually goes down with Andrich in close proximity. The ref waves play on, leaving Ducksch livid.

58'

Agu away

The substitute is straight into the action with a crucial defensive header that frustrates the away side.

56'

Bremen swap

Werder's Felix Agu is on to make just his second appearance of this Bundesliga season.

56'

Boniface off target

Boniface lashes over the top but it's one more shot on the stats card for the visiting side.

Goal attempts

0off target

1on target

5off target

1on target

56'

Substitution

Felix Agu

Olivier Deman

54'

Deman booked

Frimpong is away down the flank, but not for long. Deman slides in and upends the Dutch flyer. That's a booking every day of the week.

54'

Yellow card

Olivier Deman

Bayer record

In what is one more impressive milestone for the Werkeslf, they have now managed to score at least two goals in the first 12 Bundesliga matchdays, something no other team managed before in the history of the division.

47'

Bremen hope?

In Leverkusen's last last away game, Hoffenheim clawed back a 2-0 deficit to level with Leverkusen. Granted, Bayer did go on to win that match but it does give Werder a sliver of hope that the visitors have been pegged back before.

46'

Away we go again

Leverkusen get us underway in the second half. Can Werder produce a fightback here or will Leverkusen extend their lead?

Kick-off!

Half-time

45'

+ 1

Half-time: Werder 0-2 Leverkusen

The visitors are cruising back to the top of the Bundesliga table as things stand. An own goal and Jeremie Frimpong's super strike before the break have the Werkself looking good for all three points at the Weserstadion.

43'

Bayer double lead

It's a second for Leverkusen and it's that man Jeremie Frimpong who lashes into the top corner for his fourth goal of this Bundesliga campaign.

42'

Jeremie Frimpong

GOAL!

0:2

Goal probability

13 %

Shot speed

Shot speed describes the maximum speed in km/h that a ball reaches in a shot on goal. The distance is measured from the location of the shot to the centre of the goal.

106.51 km/h

Distance to Goal

The distance to goal is measured at the time of the shot - from the position of the ball to the center of the goal.

12.8 m

36'

Friedl booked

Friedl bundles Boniface over out on the touchline and that's a yellow card for the Werder man.

36'

Yellow card

Marco Friedl

31'

Not quite up to speed

As in control as Bayer have been thus far, Xabi Alonso's men haven't quite clicked in attack yet. Frimpong and Hofmann have been trying with some link-ups while Florian Wirtz is occasionally menacing. Still, it's not exactly free flowing for Xabi Alonso's men right now.

30'

Speed check: The fastest player in the game after 30 minutes

Through high-end camera technology and machine learning, the speed of each player is evaluated in real time. Top speed then means, the fastest measured single frame of a player/game.

Jeremie Agyekum Frimpong33.39km/h

Florian Wirtz32.32km/h

Piero Martin Hincapie Reyna31.95km/h

25'

Eye-catching stats

As well as bossing possession, Leverkusen have also won 56% of the duels while they have prevented Bremen from having a single shot on goal thus far.

20'

Leverkusen in control

The visitors are now in command of this game after Werder's bright start. The opening goal has acted as a sucker punch to the Green-Whites.

Possession (%)

4258

Bayer's O.G. double

Leverkusen have now benefited twice this Bundesliga season from own goals. Xabi Alonso's men previously had a goal gifted them from Mainz.

15'

Unwanted record

Leverkusen's opener via that own goal means that Bremen now have an unwanted 66 o.g.'s to their name in top-flight history, a division record.

14'

Bittencourt booked

The referee awards a free kick to Leverkusen that irks the home players, who surround the official. Bittencourt says a little too much and is shown a yellow card.

14'

Yellow card

Leonardo Bittencourt

10'

B04 lead!

It's a nightmare for the home side as Olivier Deman connects with a Hofmann cross from the left and looks on as the ball rolls slowly out of Zetterer's reach and into the corner.

Olivier Deman

OWN GOAL!

0:1

Boniface denied

Leverkusen's top scorer rounds Michael Zetterer and slides the ball home from an angle. That won't count, however, as the big striker was offside.

Intense opening

Werder are very much up for this. Leverkusen are not being given a moment's peace in possession as the hosts snap at their heels. Ducksch and Borré are looking menacing up top as Bremen threaten to find a breakthrough.

Peeeep!

Werder get the game underway ...

Kick-off!

Coin toss

Ok, the ground is jumping, the referee has flipped the coin and the teams have taken their positions .... here we go.

Teams in tunnel

Both sets of players are lining up in the tunnel, sharing handshakes and backslaps. It's almost time!

Warm-ups underway

The Weserstadion is rapidly filling up as both teams go through their pre-match paces. Not long now to kick off.

Top spot up for grabs

So, after Bayern's victory against Cologne last night, Leverkusen were bumped off top spot by the record champions. A B04 victory today would send the Werkself back into pole position but should they draw, they will go level with the Bavarian giants on points but trail on goal difference.

Happy Birthday Xabi!

Altogether now: Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you .... we'll allow you to finish the remainder of the song yourselves as you wish Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso a very happy 42nd birthday. Oh, and lest we forget, Bayer keeper Lukas Hradecky turned 34 yesterday.

Robert Andrich starts

Coach Xabi Alonso has made just one change to his winning B04 machine today. Robert Andrich comes in for Jonathan Tah, who takes his place on the bench. This will be only Andrich's second start of 2023/24.

Bremen unchanged

The Green-Whites start with the same XI for the fourth game in a row. The last time that happened in the Bundesliga, it was 2006 and Thomas Schaaf was at the Bremen helm! Goalkeeper Jiri Pavlenka is back in the squad having recovered from a groin problem. Nicolai Rapp and Naby Keïta, meanwhile, are not ready to return.

Werder starting XI

Zetterer - Veljković, Friedl (c), Jung - Weiser, Schmid, Stage, Bittencourt, Deman - Borré, Ducksch

Werder subs

Pavlenka, Stark, Pieper, Agu, Groß, Lynen, Kownacki, Njinmah, Woltemade

Leverkusen starting XI

Hrádecký (c) - Kossounou, Andrich, Hincapié - Frimpong, Palacios, Xhaka, Grimaldo - Hofmann, Wirtz - Boniface

Leverkusen subs

Kovář, Stanišić, Tah, Tapsoba, Amiri, Puerta, Tella, Adli, Hložek

Are Bremen a threat?

Of course they are. The hosts are enjoying their best run of form for the past 13 months having won one and drawn two of their last three games. Werder also have a certain Marvin Ducksch brimming with confidence after the forward recently made his international debut with Germany.

3:33

It's Matchday!

Here we go. It's already Matchday 12 in what has a been a flying Bundesliga campaign thus far. You can follow updates as league leaders Bayer Leverkusen face a tricky task against Werder Bremen right here. Don't go anywhere ...

Alonso's view on Bremen

"Bremen have been in good form in recent games, have shown good football and have a dangerous attack with Borré and Ducksch."

Fritz's view on Leverkusen

Speaking in place of the ill Ole Werner on Thursday, Bremen's head of first team football Clemens Fritz said: "It will take confidence and courage, will demand concentration from the first minute. They barely let you breathe and are brutal in transition. The way they're playing right now, it could well be possible [that Leverkusen end up as champions]."

3:47

Watch: Juliane and Florian Wirtz - football-crazy siblings

The Wirtz family will be paying particularly close attention to Saturday's game, with Florian starring for Bayer and sister, Juliane, currently on the books of the Werder women's team.

Leverkusen on a roll

Bayer have won their last seven Bundesliga games in a row. Eight is the club record, albeit in a calendar year (2013) rather than a single campaign. Their haul of 31 points at this juncture, meanwhile, is a joint-Bundesliga record.

Probable line-ups

Who’s set to play this weekend? Who’s going to miss out? Keep up to date with all the latest team news right here!

2:03

Watch: Bremen 2-3 Leverkusen - previous meeting

Jeremie Frimpong starred as Leverkusen came from behind to beat Bremen in March.

2:03

Watch: Frankfurt 2-2 Bremen - highlights

Werder made it three games without defeat prior to the international break, despite blowing a 2-0 lead in their draw with Frankfurt. The Green-Whites begin the weekend down in 12th place.

2:03

Watch: Leverkusen 4-0 Union - highlights

Leverkusen took top spot back from Bayern Munich with a crushing win over Union Berlin. With 31 points from a possible 33, Xabi Alonso's team have equalled Bayern's record for the best ever start to a Bundesliga season.

Hello and welcome!

Thanks for joining us for build-up and live coverage of this Matchday 12 fixture between Bremen and Leverkusen.