Saturday, April 17, 2021 at 8:38 PM• Mart van Mourik • Last update: 20:52

Bayer Leverkusen has booked a simple victory in the Bundesliga on Saturday evening. In-house, Hannes Wolf’s team took on 1. FC Köln, which was defeated 3-0. Daley Sinkgraven made his comeback as a substitute after almost two months of injuries. Occupy thanks to the resounding victory die Werkself provisionally fifth place in the ranking with 47 points, although Borussia Dortmund (46 points) will still play against Werder Bremen on Sunday. Number four Eintracht Frankfurt (53) and number three VfL Wolfsburg (54) lost their respective matches, adding tension in the battle for the Champions League tickets.

The home team fired off the starting blocks in the BayArena, where the opening goal was found after five minutes of play. Moussa Diaby was played on the right side of the field, after which the attacker put Jannes Horn on the wrong foot with a nice cut. The cross that followed was perfectly measured for Leon Bailey, who nodded in at the far post: 1-0. Then an impasse broke out, which seemed to be broken only ten minutes before the half-time signal.

Referee Sören Storks awarded a penalty kick to Köln after a foul by Charles Aránguiz on Marius Wolf. However, on the advice of the video referee, Storks rectified his decision, as the violation was not committed within but outside the box. The free kick that followed did not endanger Wolf’s team. Just before half time, Bailey thought he would score his second goal of the afternoon, but Storks rejected the goal due to offside. More than five minutes after the break, the 2-0 was found.

After a repulsed Köln attack, the leather ended up at the feet of Bailey, who rushed into the box and gave Diaby the chance to tap in from close range: 2-0. A few minutes after doubling the margin, Wendell left the field in favor of Sinkgraven. Due to an injury, it was the first time since February 25 that the left back made playing minutes. Jeremie Frimpong also came within the lines for Exequiel Palacios just before. Timothy Fosu-Mensah was not in Wolf’s match selection due to an injury. The final chord was ultimately played by Bailey, who put the 3-0 final score on the scoreboard on a pass from Kerem Demirbay.