Gallic Hoffenheim gives Bayer 04 Leverkusen a false start

In a duel between two completely revamped teams, 1899 Hoffenheim turned an early deficit at Bayer 04 Leverkusen into a victory at the start of the Bundesliga.

New signings Fisnik Asllani (25th minute) and Tim Lemperle (52nd minute) turned the 0-1 deficit by Jarell Quansah (6th minute) into a win on Saturday and gave Leverkusen's new coach Erik ten Hag a sobering Bundesliga debut.

Both in attack and defense, Leverkusen revealed some deficits after the summer upheaval with the departure of its "double axis" of Lukas Hradecky, Jonathan Tah, Granit Xhaka, Jeremie Frimpong and especially Florian Wirtz, despite 14 new signings in the summer.

Hoffenheim showed from the kickoff where their journey on Matchday 1 could lead. With seven new signings in the starting lineup, the visitors boldly attacked the favorites in their own stadium. After just two minutes, Leverkusen's new number one, Mark Flekken, was unable to clear the ball properly under pressure.

The ball came back like a boomerang. Lemperle didn't hesitate, and his shot from 14 meters hit the post. Even though Leverkusen took the lead shortly afterwards with a Quansah header from five meters following a Grimaldo free kick, this didn't faze Christian Ilzer's visitors.

Well-organized off the ball and quick and straightforward attacking, the Kraichgau team made the better impression for much of the match. Leverkusen lacked pace and creativity, so all three shots on goal in the first half came from set pieces.

But both when Koki Machida (33') deflected a free kick into his own goal and when Piero Hincapié (43') tried from four meters after a cross from Aleix Garcia, TSG captain Oliver Baumann was on the spot in goal in his 490th Bundesliga game.

Hoffenheim, on the other hand, looked much more fluid in attack. Bazoumana Touré on the left and Lemperle in the center, in particular, repeatedly embarrassed Leverkusen's not always solid defense. And so the equalizer was the minimum wage. Touré played in Asllani, returning from the penalty area, on the left. He didn't hesitate, firing the ball over Flekken's shoulder into the near post from a tight angle.

With two further chances from Vladimir Coufal (36th minute) and Touré (45th+3), 1899 already indicated that this wasn't all there was to it. And because the visitors simply continued in the same vein in the second half and Leverkusen never got going, Hoffenheim's lead was almost inevitable.

Asllani held off a long ball from the defense against Quansah. Lemperle came from the back and fired the loose ball from 25 meters precisely into the bottom left corner of the post to make it 2-1.

Now ten Hag's team was at a loss. The coach had brought on one of his highly talented new signings, Ernest Poku, at halftime, but Leverkusen clearly had no ideas on how to break down the visitors' defense. They also lacked pace and mobility between the lines.

Not a single shot from the hosts reached Baumann's goal in the second half. Striker Patrik Schick was left hanging in the air in the center. The Czech's 17 touches and zero shots were emblematic of Leverkusen's attacking play.

Only one attack showed the potential of the Werkself, when Schick cut through on the left for Grimaldo and Nathan Tella fired a low cross into the side netting at the right post (78'). What looked like the signal for a final offensive was merely a splash of color on an otherwise rather dull performance from the hosts.

Ten Hag brought on two of his many new signings, Christian Kofane and Claudio Echeverri, for the final five minutes, but there was still no change in the shot tally, let alone the result.

Leverkusen travels to the Weserstadion to face Werder Bremen on Matchday 2 of the Bundesliga season (Saturday, 3:30 p.m.). Hoffenheim hosts Eintracht Frankfurt at the same time for their first home game of the season.

• football
• Bundesliga
• Bayer 04 Leverkusen
• TSG Hoffenheim