Leverkusen cruise to victory over Heidenheim
After a 4-0 trouncing of Swedish opposition BK Hacken midweek, Leverkusen welcomed Heidenheim to the BayArena. The newly promoted side have been a surprise package thus far, offering thrilling games and goals aplenty. Up against Xabi Alonso’s fine-tuned Werkself would be a step too far, however. The hosts ran out comfortable 4-1 victors inspired by a Victor Boniface brace.
Die Werkself were utterly dominant inside the opening half hour. That was made obvious inside 10 minutes when Victor Bonface struck for 1-0. Palacios found the perfect pass for the Nigerian whose strike beat Muller from 16 yards out. The next opportunity fell to Frimpong in that timeframe. Cutting inside Tim Siersleben, the marauding wingback would be denied by Muller.
Palacios was walking a fine line with referee Christian Dingert. The combative Argentine midfielder risked being sent off for a second bookable offence after a heavy challenge on Fohrenbach. Kevin Muller’s afternoon got busier before the interval – a double save repelled the lively Boniface to leave the deficit at the minimum for Heidenheim.
Although Hedienheim lived off scraps, Frank Schmidt’s looked sharp on the counter. After several spurned Leverkusen chances at the other end, Eren Dinkci restored parity for the guests. Beste cut inside to find the Bremen loanee who picked out the bottom right corner. But Palacios would be the architect once more when he and Hofmann combined for 2-1. Hedienheim level for mere minutes as the German midfielder slid the ball beyond Muller.
Leverkusen finally received some breathing space with quarter of an hour remaining. VAR spotted a clear foul by Maloney on Grimaldo in the box. Boniface tucked home the resulting spot kick with ease. The Icing was put on Leverkusen’s cake late on when substitute Adli added a fourth goal. His lofted effort sailed over Muller from an acute angle.