Leverkusen 5-0 Salzburg Player Ratings as Florian Wirtz and Grimaldo make it a night to remember at the BayArena

With the Champions League back underway, reigning Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen hosted the Austrian Bundesliga team RB Salzburg as they looked to make amends for their shocking loss against Liverpool last time out. As for Salzburg, they were much the underdog side coming into the game with a patchy run of form as well. 

From the get-go, Leverkusen set the pace with their intention to go on and dominate the game. Owing to a blistering attack, a handball early on gave the home side a penalty which was duly converted by Florian Wirtz. Shortly afterward, Alejandro Grimaldo converted a superb free-kick before finding Wirtz who danced his way through the Salzburg defense to score the third goal for his side. 

The second half followed a similar tone with Patrick Schick getting on the scoreboard before substitute Aleix Garcia put the game beyond all doubt with a solid strike. Despite their best efforts, Salzburg were massively outgunned and not helped by the fact that their prolific striker went off early less than 15 minutes into the game. That said, Salzburg’s harrowing night will give them a lot of learning on how to improve and do better for their upcoming games. 

All in all, the game made for a very watchable contest, particularly by the free-flowing football played by Xabi Alonso’s side. Whilst Salzburg pushed and pressured to get a goal of their own, a lack of quality in and around the box saw them return home empty-handed.

Bayer Leverkusen Player Ratings vs RB Salzburg

Goalkeeper

Matěj Kovář: 7/10- Idle for most of the first half, saw a few shots hurled at him from distance, for which he was easily up to the task. Hardly put a foot wrong and did not seem ruffled despite a few shaky moments at the back. 

Defenders

Piero Hincapié: 6.5/10- Marchaled his side well and got forward on occasion to provide an additional option in attack. Was beaten by his man on a couple of occasions but overall did well to recover and stayed solid at the back. 

Jonathan Tah: 7/10- Strong calming presence in the heart of defense. Did not seem too troubled barring a couple of instances early on, and kept possession well before helping it forward to the flank or to the midfield. 

Edmond Tapsoba: 7/10- Quite solid at the back and did not make any real errors or misplace an important pass. Played a simple game and perhaps only once got too close to his man near the halfway line. Rest, he was quite clean with his game today. 

Midfielders

Alejandro Grimaldo: 9/10- Scored a peach of a goal with his free-kick and followed it up with an assist as well. Did not fade away after his contributions and kept picking up the ball and linking with the forward players to try and create something. Had an all-rounder performance on the night. 

Granit Xhaka: 8/10- Had a near-perfect performance in the middle of the park. Managed the tempo well, rotating possession and helping it forward quickly at times. Got involved in counterattacks as well, showing a rare best of speed.

Robert Andrich: 7/10- Was good in possession and fluid with his passing, keeping things running throughout. Started getting slightly rash towards the end which could have ended up costing his side on the night.

Exequiel Palacios: 8/10- Did a lot of hard running up and down the field, becoming a real threat during attacks. Had a few dangerous shots on target and looked to be an option for his attackers throughout. On another day could well have gotten a goal and an assist.

Jeremie Frimpong: 7.5/10- Ran the channel well and posed some significant goal threat himself. Did not shy away from taking players on and delivered a peach of a cross for his assist in the second half. Minus points for the ridiculous hairdo though. 

Attackers

Florian Wirtz: 9/10- Another top performance from the budding superstar who has made a name for himself in the past 18 months. Took both his goals well especially the second one as he drifted into the box, cutting through the defense before finding the far bottom corner. Put one on the plate for Aleix Garcia as well to round off a beautiful counter. 

Patrick Schick: 7.5/10- Continued his red-hot form with another goal, which for some time seemed as though wouldn’t arrive for him. Had a whole host of chances before and after his goal that he could have put away and on another day, probably would have. 

Substitutes

Aleix García: 7.5/10- Seemed lively since his introduction and came close to scoring just moments prior to the counter that led to his goal. Took his time with the strike and placed it superbly into the bottom corner, leaving the goalkeeper helpless. 

Nathan Tella: N/A

Arthur: N/A

Artem Stepanov: N/A

Artem Stepanov: N/A

Manager

Xabi Alonso: 8/10- Despite his side’s domination, Alonso kept his players on their toes, often reprimanding loose passes or lack of urgency to win back the ball. Expects perfection out of his players and got exactly that on the night. Will be pleased with the result, considering their previous outing in the Champions League. 

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RB Salzburg Player Ratings vs Bayer Leverkusen

Goalkeeper

Alexander Schlager: 7/10- Despite the scoreline, did not have a terrible game and made some incredible saves to keep his side in the game. Carried himself with a certain confidence and was as adept at stopping the ball as he was with it at his feet. Could have prevented maybe one or two of the goals that went in, but prevented about three or four more. 

Defenders

Aleksa Terzić: 6/10- Did not have a good game whatsoever and was hooked at halftime by the manager. Absent and unaware of his surroundings at times, he was missing when his side was besieged. Did not do anything productive with the ball at his feet either.

Samson Baidoo: 5.5/10 – Horrific at times with his judgment and decision-making. Gave away a silly handball early on and then got spun for Wirtz’s second. The only saving grace was the fact that he did not give the ball away. 

Kamil Piątkowski: 6.5/10- Needed to have a better impact, especially considering the circumstances. Was all right with his distribution but lacked the defensive prowess during crucial moments which ultimately ended up costing his side quite dearly.

Amar Dedić: 7/10- Took some responsibility as captain of the side, driving forward trying to get something back for his side. Although easily dealt with at times in defense, he took it upon himself to get his side up the field and keep them at it till the end. 

Midfielders

Bobby Clark: 6/10- Unlucky to have been hooked at halftime but was getting outdone physically in the middle of the park. One of his side’s furthest up the pitch, Clark failed to make any impact or worry the opposition when in possession. 

Lucas Gourna-Douath: 6/10- Quite irresponsible in possession and particularly when he held up the ball and tried to dribble out of danger at the edge of his own box. Was lucky that it did not lead to a goal and was rightly hooked by the manager at halftime. 

Mamady Diambou: 6.5/10- Had a better performance than his peers, contributing defensively and whilst going forward. Showed good energy and was up for the contest, getting stuck in wherever he could. Could have shown a little more inventiveness with his passing though. 

Attackers

Karim Konaté: 6/10- Had a very brief spell in the game before unfortunately picking up a serious injury. Seemed lively in flashes and looked as though he could have contributed to something for his side if he could’ve played.

Moussa Kounfolo Yeo: 6/10- Was meant to lead the line following the departure of their striker due to injury and for the most part did not look any bit threatening on the night. Got caught offside and even gave away a shot at goal. 

Oscar Gloukh: 6.5/10- Seemed a little more lively than his fellow attacker but unfortunately found himself on the backfoot or trying to help out a fullback. Seemed to have the will and the spark to venture forward and create openings for his teammates. 

Substitutes

Nene Dorgeles: 7/10- Came on earlier than he likely expected and was by far Salzburg’s best attacker on the night. That said, it doesn’t count for much seeing that he was only good at picking up the ball and driving into the box, lacking the confidence or the balance to convert. 

Daouda Guindo: 6.5/10- A little more resolute at the back and gave some stability at the back. Was outmatched for pace on a couple of occasions and that led to a goal. Needed to be quicker on occasions to fling in a tackle, but all things considered, was he the most active of the entire backline. 

Stefan Bajčetić: 6/10- Brought a little more stability in the midfield and got stuck in defensively too. Unfortunately did not get the time or the space to settle in properly which saw him get his pockets picked on occasion. 

Mads Bidstrup: 6/10- Was quite reserved during the game and played a very safe game with his passing. Did stick in a few tackles but was overall a little too timid and less present than what his team would have liked. 

Nicolás Capaldo: N/A

Manager 

Pepijn Lijnders: 6/10- Will not be pleased by how some of his players performed tonight but will need to make adjustments moving forward and do better with some of his selections. Did show the courage and wherewithal to make early changes to try and influence the game.

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