Because Leverkusen once again gave up a hair-raising 2-0 lead, this time against bottom-placed Kiel, the champions are in danger of losing touch with the top. Goalkeeper Hradecky misses “zeal and grit”.
Everything was so beautifully prepared for the next celebration: the jerseys were specially made, even the electronic scoreboard in the stadium showed the results in retro style. The occasion was the 120th birthday of the “Gymnastics and Games Club 1904 of the Farbenfabrik formerly Friedrich Bayer Co. Leverkusen”, founded in 1904. But perhaps it’s a bit strange to celebrate a company’s birthday, perhaps Bayer Leverkusen is still a bit full after its incredible preseason. In any case, the result of this festive day hit the Werkself like a boomerang, which was particularly painful because it came out of nowhere, at the end of an English week that had started so beautifully celebratory, with a 1-1 draw at FC Bayern, and continued seamlessly on Tuesday with the impressively fought 1-0 win in the Champions League against AC Milan. But four days later, the retro scoreboard read 2:2, clearly and easily readable even without glasses.