Hjulmand's exciting debut as Bayer coach

With new coach Kasper Hjulmand, hope and spectacle are back in Leverkusen. The shorthanded win against Frankfurt was impressive—and wild.

Despite being down two men for a long time and ultimately two goals down, Bayer beat Eintracht Frankfurt 3-1 (2-0) on Friday evening, celebrating their first victory on Matchday 3 of the Bundesliga. In a strong first half from Leverkusen, Alejandro Grimaldo scored from a free kick (10') and Patrik Schick from a penalty (45'+4'). After Can Uzun pulled one back (52'), Robert Andrich was sent off early (59') and Equi Fernandez late (90'+2') for second yellow cards, but Leverkusen still held on to their lead – and Grimaldo added another (90'+8').

"We're very happy that we finally got three points. That was very important for us," Schick said in an interview with Sportschau. The team was also very happy for the new coach that he started with a big win.

Former Mainz coach Hjulmand was most recently the Danish national coach and succeeds Erik ten Hag. The Dutchman was forced to leave after just two matchdays, with only one point won, and amid internal disputes.

When asked what Hjulmand did differently, Schick said: "He gave us simple tasks, it was very clear what we wanted to do on the pitch. In the first half, we showed that it worked. We created a lot of chances, and the defenders did a good job."

Accordingly, it was unclear how Leverkusen would start the match, especially since their opponents Frankfurt had good reasons to be confident after two wins and a 7-3 victory. In situations like these, an early goal helps – and Grimaldo delivered. The Spanish striker fired a fluttering free kick from 23 meters onto the right post. From there, the ball bounced off goalkeeper Zetterer's shoulder and into the net.

The goal actually proved to be a relief, as Leverkusen were clearly the stronger team and had significantly better chances. Hjulmand only played in three positions compared to the 3-3 draw against Bremen, including replacing Aleix Garcia at center back with Palacios. He had to change the position after just 15 minutes, and Palacios was forced off injured.

Five minutes earlier, Frankfurt had also had to make a substitution, with Nathaniel Brown replacing the injured Rasmus Kristensen. Eintracht's highly praised attacking play was almost entirely faltering, and it wasn't until the 38th minute that the visitors had their first significant chance – the recovered Jonathan Burkardt headed a cross from Jean-Matteo Bahoya over the bar.

An equalizer would have been undeserved, unlike the 2-0 that followed before halftime. Because Frankfurt's Robin Koch tripped Nathan Tella in his own penalty area, Schick was allowed to step up from the penalty spot and convert precisely into the bottom left corner.

Oddly enough, a 15-minute halftime break in football matches sometimes causes the balance of power to shift fundamentally, even without substitutions. This was also the case here. Eintracht Frankfurt came out of the locker room like a different team and earned an early equalizer through Uzun. The 19-year-old's direct volley deflected into the net, marking Uzun's third goal of the season in just three matches.

Just as Leverkusen seemed to be breaking free, the ball bounced a little too far from Leverkusen captain Andrich's foot. He slid in at speed and connected, but in doing so, endangered the bones of Frankfurt's Ritsu Doan so badly that referee Deniz Aytekin showed him a second yellow card. Annoying for Andrich, he had earned his first yellow card early in the first half for an unnecessary tug on goalkeeper Zetterer.

With fewer players, Leverkusen resorted to disciplined defending and was successful. Eintracht Frankfurt attacked but couldn't find any gaps.

Bayer had the best chance of the final phase, following a long ball from goalkeeper Mark Flekken, but substitute Axel Tape was denied by Zetterer. When Leverkusen's Fernandez was sent off for a needless tackle in stoppage time, the game became even more heated. Frankfurt were consumed by arguments instead of concentrating on their attacks.

Grimaldo punished Frankfurt's negligence with a perfect free kick to make it 3-1. "We didn't play at the level we're capable of today," Frankfurt coach Dino Toppmöller told Sportschau. "We weren't technically clean enough and gave away too many easy possessions."

Leverkusen now hosts Borussia Mönchengladbach on Sunday evening (5:30 p.m.). Frankfurt hosts Union Berlin on Sunday afternoon (3:30 p.m.).

• football
• Bundesliga
• Bayer 04 Leverkusen
• Eintracht Frankfurt