Bayer Leverkusen came here from a purpose to beat Stuttgart on a penalty kick and win the DFL-Supercup despite being reduced to 10 players in the first half.
Xabi Alonso’s looks seemed to be beaten through German opposition, anything that didn’t take place once in their double-win crusade last time out, but produced some other act of ordinary excology to win this trophy for the first time.
Buoyed by the home in Bayarena, Leverkusen scored the opening purpose when Victor Boniface hit the head tied by Edmond Tapsoba from close range. But their night has become more complicated since with Stuttgart impressive.
Last season’s Bundesliga Wonder finalists leveled the game when young French midfielder Enzo Millot swept the ball past Lukas Hradecky to equalize. Leverkusen can hardly complain when Stuttgart reached the target 3 more times.
Alonso’s night was not helped when Martin Terrier, on his debut, rushed to Ermedin Demirovic and hooked on the ankle with his stallions. This led to Boniface being substituted and that Leverkusen game was reduced to 10 players.
It is the adjustments made through Sebastian’s aptitude that seemed decisive. Stuttgart’s head coach brought in Franz Kratzig and Deniz undav just after the hour mark and the former crossed for the latter to score almost without delay to stun the crowd.
But with time running out, Leverkusen summoned their goals to score due, with Patrik Schick as a substitute completing a clever resolution to take the penalty play. Kratzig and Silas lost. Leverkusen had done it again. The team that never knows it gets hit.
For Stuttgart, it’s a hard blow because the game seemed to be there for them, the hard paints done. It’s an aspect that remains through star striker Serhou Guirsy in the summer, who sold to Borussia Dortmund, but his functionality advised they could still be a threat.
“For everyone in the stadium, for everyone watching the Bundesliga, I think it was clever publicity,” said Christian Gentner, the former Stuttgart player now on staff. “You can see that our point is the best. We hope that we can continue with this. station. “
Still, it was a missed opportunity to win this festival for the first time in 32 years, to win a very sensible award for the first time in 17. “It’s a quality of Leverkusen to come back to those games in the last minutes, the last seconds,” Gentner added.
How does Leverkusen continue to do this? If it were a true Madrid, it would be explained as the club’s heritage, trust has been instilled in generations. Leverkusen discovered it in a short time, recovering the conditions probably lost again and again.
Nathan Tella, the former Southampton winger, said afterwards: “We showed wonderful character. It was a very mature performance. It’s hard to go to 10 men yet to have the character to come back to him. We controlled to play our overall game. “
After a 4-1 loss to Arsenal in pre-season and a couple of awkward moments, Leverkusen don’t seem to be more productive at the moment. But they find a way. The celebrations will be short. Alonso’s players have more paints to make, according to Tella.
“We will celebrate, but we will do it in the right way. It’s not like the Pokal Ultimate where we had the summer striker of us. We start the league next week. It’s great to have a little celebration, the locker room is good, but it’s back in practice on Monday. “