Bayer Leverkusen thrashed Wehen Wiesbaden 4-0 in the Round of 64 of the German Cup at Brita-Arena on Friday evening. The visitors made no mistake against a side that had already suffered three consecutive defeats, including a 4-0 loss to Würzburger Kickers just a week ago. By then, anyone watching Leverkusen's recent form would have known this was not going to be a friendly encounter.
The breakthrough came in the 43rd minute when Patrik Schick opened the scoring, catching Wehen sleeping after a period of sustained pressure. Lucas doubled the lead almost immediately in the 47th minute, and here's the thing — Wehen had barely recovered their composure before the second blow landed. Patrick Schick was substituted in the 67th minute, replaced by Nicolas Tella who made it 3-0 in the 69th minute.
Chances flowed in one direction all evening. Leverkusen created three big chances and registered eight shots on target, while Wehen managed just one shot on target and failed to create a single clear opportunity. The visitors' possession of 71 per cent tells only half the story — it was 92 attacks against 50, and Wehen's goalkeeper made four saves to keep the scoreline respectable.
Fabian Greilinger received a yellow card in the 22nd minute for Wehen, while Gregor Fechner picked up a booking sixty-four minutes in as the hosts tried desperately to mount a response. Nothing came of it. C. Kofane added a fourth goal in the 79th minute, and the match was effectively over long before that.
The result means Leverkusen progress to the next round, while Wehen's recent run of defeats extends to four matches. They had beaten Bayern 2-1 in their last home game, but that was a different era entirely. To be fair, the statistics show a clear hierarchy — 597 successful passes from Leverkusen against 195 for Wehen, and expected goals of 1.93 compared to 0.23. The gap between these two sides is not closing anytime soon.