Ratings
- A1 – Very good, could play higher
- A2 – Strong potential to play higher
- B1 – Good, strong player at level
- B2 – Potential to be strong player at level
- C – Average for the level, rewatch
- D – Below average, don’t follow up
Bayer 04 Leverkusen eventually cruised to a comfortable 1-4 win in Bremen, after needing some time to create chances and to tire the defense of Werder Bremen out. Bayer played in a 4-3-3 formation with a lot of variation in the midfield and final third and especially in the second half, they outplayed Werder Bremen and did not get into any trouble.
Kai Havertz
Player Profile:
- Nationality: German
- Age: 20
- Date of birth: 11/06/1999
- Club: Bayer Leverkusen
- Career: Bayer Leverkusen (Y)
- Position: attacking midfielder
- Secondary Position: right midfielder
- Preferred foot: left
Kai Havertz played as a shadow striker in this match and managed to score two headers. Havertz impressed with his elegant style of play and his good movement. The German youngster has a lot of variation in his playing style as he often dropped deep to support the build up, but he also made some good runs into the box, including his two goals.
The first goal came after Havertz made a good run into the box and managed to get away from his opponent by stepping a few steps backwards to get into space between the two central defenders of Werder Bremen. The second goal of Havertz came after a good free kick was played into the box and no-one was covering Havertz, who could head it into the goal freely.
The German prospect always turned the right way, showed that he has an amazing ball control and is able to receive the pass when he is being put under pressure. Havertz has an outstanding technique and is able to play in the tight spaces very well. He also likes to link up with his teammates in the tight spaces. Havertz occasionally created space for his teammates as well by making a diagonal run.
Rating: A1
Definitely one level above the rest in this game, even though he did not even play to his full potential.
Nadiem Amiri
Player Profile:
- Nationality: German
- Age: 23
- Date of birth: 27/10/1996
- Club: Bayer Leverkusen
- Career: TSG Hoffenheim 1899 (Y), TSG Hoffenheim 1899, Bayer Leverkusen
- Position: attacking midfielder
- Preferred foot: right
Nadiem Amiri played as an attacking midfielder in this match and I have got mixed feelings about his performance. The German midfielder showed that he is able to control the ball well under pressure, that he has a decent kicking technique and that he is able to find space between the lines to receive the pass in space, to eventually turn towards goal and play a through pass or have a shot.
When Leverkusen had possession in the final third, Amiri often was too passive and he did not get into the box often. When he did get into the box, he did not try to get into scoring position that actively, even though Diaby delivered some perfect crosses which Amiri could have scored if he was a bit more active in the box. However, when he received on the edge of the box, he showed that he has a good shot.
Nadiem Amiri sometimes took to long to make a decision and this led to some wasted chances. For example, in the end of the first half it was a 3v4 for Leverkusen and Amiri had a lot of space to drive in. He did just that and Havertz created space for Diaby with a good diagonal run. However, Amiri did not spot this on time and eventually the chance was wasted.
Rating: B2
It is in between B1 and B2. I need to rewatch in order to determine if it’s a B1 or B2.
Edmond Tapsoba
Player Profile:
- Nationality: Burkinese
- Age: 21
- Date of birth: 02/02/1999
- Club: Bayer Leverkusen
- Career: Salitas (Y), US Ouagadougou (Y), Leixões SC (Y), Vitória Guimarães SC (Y), Vitória Guimarães SC
- Position: central defender
- Preferred foot: right
Edmond Tapsoba played as a right central defender in this match. The Burkinese impressed once again with his great passing ability, physicality and ability in the 1-on-1 duels with his opponent. However, he showed that he still has some things that he needs to work on before he can be one of the best central defenders in the world.
On the ball, Tapsoba plays a lot of passes sideways to Bender or to Weiser. He takes his time to wait for the right moment to play a pass to one of the midfielders or to play a pass that breaks lines to one of the attackers. He often chooses for the right option and he almost never lost the ball. In this match, Tapsoba did not show his ability to play cross passes that much.
In the 1-on-1 duels, he keeps looking at the ball well and waits for his moment to intercept the ball. If his opponent tries to get past him using pace and acceleration, Tapsoba can keep up as he possesses good acceleration and pace himself as well. It is hard to get past the Burkinese in the 1-on-1 duels and Tapsoba seems very confident and dominant in these duels.
When Tapsoba needs to use his strength, he feels very comfortable and he is not hesitant to bully his opponent off the ball. In aerial duels, he dominates as well as he uses his height, good jumping and his good timing to win nearly every aerial duel. However, sometimes he still makes the wrong choices in defence.
Occasionally, Tapsoba chooses to step out of the defensive line while it would be better to stay in position. In these moments, he sometimes is too late and he gives away a foul. Also, it happens sometimes that he does not scan well and solely looks at the ball which leads to his opponent making a run in behind without Tapsoba spotting it.
However, when he does this he is able to recover it often because of his good pace and acceleration.
Rating: A2
He has improved massively in the Bundesliga and if he continues this development, it would not be strange if he moves to one of the elite European clubs in the summer of 2021.
Moussa Diaby
Player Profile:
- Nationality: French
- Age: 20
- Date of birth: 07/07/1999
- Club: Bayer Leverkusen
- Career: PSG (Y), Crotone (L), PSG, Bayer Leverkusen
- Position: left winger
- Secondary position: right winger
- Preferred foot: left
Moussa Diaby started as a left winger but later switched to the right wing, before switching to the left wing again in the second half. As a left winger, the French winger had a very quiet game and he did not manage to impress at all. After around 25 minutes, he switched to the right wing and he immediately managed to get past his opponent using his acceleration and he delivered a pinpoint cross with his weaker right foot to assist Havertz.
Diaby showed that he has a good technique, that he is able to get his first touch right and that he can combine with his teammates in the tight spaces. He dribbled past his opponent often using his good changes of directions and good feints. This got him into crossing position often and he showed good awareness to pick out the right pass every time. If it wasn’t for Amiri’s passiveness in the box, he would’ve gotten more assists than 2.
Rating: A2
Still needs one or two years at Bayer Leverkusen, but will certainly turn out to be a strong squad player for Leverkusen to eventually outgrow the German club.
Florian Wirtz
Player Profile:
- Nationality: German
- Age: 17
- Date of birth: 03/05/2003
- Club: Bayer Leverkusen
- Career: 1.FC Köln (Y), Bayer Leverkusen (Y)
- Position: attacking midfielder
- Preferred foot:
Florian Wirtz made his debut for Bayer Leverkusen and started out on the right wing. He later changed to the left wing. The 17-year-old showed some very promising signs but it is clear that he is not ready yet to play in the Bundesliga, as he lacks physicality and got pushed off the ball very easily by the players of SV Werder Bremen.
However, on the ball, the German youngster made a very good impression, despite being overenthusiastic at times. He showed that he is able to quickly turn his opponent and that he has a good first touch. He sometimes struggled to control the ball when dribbling but that can be explained as he seemed quite nervous and overenthusiastic at times, as mentioned above.
Wirtz showed some good positional play as he took up a place in the halfspaces when Weiser advanced up the pitch on the right wing. As the match progressed, he got more comfortable and he tried to play it more on safe, by passing it sideways or backwards and not trying to dribble that often. Overall, it was an okay first performance of Wirtz.
Rating: B2
For now, Wirtz should get some minutes for Bayer Leverkusen after the 80th minute, but players like Paulinho should get more minutes than Wirtz, in my opinion.
Daley Sinkgraven
Player Profile:
- Nationality: Dutch
- Age: 24
- Date of birth: 04/07/1995
- Club: Bayer Leverkusen
- Career: SC Heerenveen (Y), SC Heerenveen, AFC Ajax, Bayer Leverkusen
- Position: left-back
- Secondary position: defensive midfielder, central midfielder, attacking midfielder, left winger
- Preferred foot: left
Daley Sinkgraven played as a left-back in this match. He showed some good signs, but he also showed some weaknesses which he needs to improve if he wants to become a strong player at the current level. On the ball, Sinkgraven has great technical ability. He has a good first touch, can use quick feints to get past his opponent and controls the ball very well.
The versatile 24-year-old is able to contribute to the attack well and it can be seen that he was an attacking midfielder at SC Heerenveen and during his first season at Ajax. He timed his runs very well and is very skilful on the ball. He played some good passes to the player in space in the central zone (often to either Havertz or Amiri), but he also had some sloppy passes.
His final pass lacked quality often and especially his crosses were too sharp at times. In defence, he got beat easily at times in the physical duels and aerial duels. Gebre Selassie managed to score from a corner after he beat Daley Sinkgraven, who lost his balance because he got slightly pushed by Gebre Selassie. This happened a few minutes after this happened as well.
Rating: B2
He’s been transformed to a left-back under Peter Bosz and still has the potential to become much better as he is still learning. Could become a strong player for Bayer Leverkusen if he manages to stay fit, which has been a problem for Sinkgraven in the past.