Leverkusen and Hoffenheim both came off wins in their last European matches in the Champions League and Europa League, respectively. For their final game of the 20th round, both teams made four changes to their lineups.
The most notable change came when Victor Boniface, whose move to Al-Nassr had fallen through, scored a well-taken goal to put Leverkusen ahead in the 15th minute. This was his first start since mid-November, with Patrik Schick starting on the bench.
Leverkusen quickly made it 2-0 when Jeremie Frimpong, who had earlier expressed surprise about a big NBA trade, scored with a great finish. Two minutes later, Nathan Tella earned a penalty, but the referee’s decision was overturned after a VAR review showed offside. In just his third Bundesliga game, referee Robin Braun made history as the first referee to announce a VAR decision in the stadium.
At the start of the second half, Schick replaced Boniface and scored a powerful shot for his 18th goal of the season. Before that, Emiliano Buendía, who had replaced the injured Tella at halftime, almost scored on his debut.
Soon after, a great passing move between Alejandro Grimaldo and Florian Wirtz set up Frimpong one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but his lob was too weak to beat the keeper. Hoffenheim then got a lifeline when Grimaldo was sent off with a second yellow card.
Just like last week against Frankfurt, Gift Orban scored within two minutes of coming on after a scramble in front of goal. Leverkusen’s coach, Xabi Alonso, who had used smart substitutions to win this fixture last season, gave Mario Hermoso his debut. Buendía, one of the new signings, was subbed off, facing a similar short appearance as Karim Adeyemi had against Holstein Kiel.
Hoffenheim had more possession after that, but couldn’t turn it into scoring chances. The referee was in the spotlight again when a big clash broke out, but he chose to keep playing without giving a red card.
With the 3-1 win, Leverkusen extended their lead over third-placed Frankfurt to seven points, while their gap to Bayern was back to six points. Hoffenheim stayed in 15th place but didn’t lose any ground as all the teams in the relegation zone also lost this weekend.
