Analysis: Gerardo Seoane’s Bayer Leverkusen
After seven matchdays, Leverkusen find themselves 2nd in the table having dropped points just twice. Ahead of this weekend’s Topspiel with Bayern, it is worth looking at some principles of Leverkusen’s system.
In a nutshell, Leverkusen are young, hungry and enormously motivated. They are an entertaining side purely on the basis of the effort they put in, and it has yielded incredibly positive results to open Seoane’s account as manager of the side.
DEFENSE
Initially, Leverkusen tended to use a 4–4–2 shape with the attacking midfielder joining Schick up top. This was in the first few games when Florian Wirtz was not part of the side, with Demirbay playing as the CAM.
This changed to a ball-oriented 4–2–3–1 press when Wirtz came into the side, with Leverkusen using the shape to press from goal kicks. Otherwise, the principles of the system remained the same, since Wirtz is more prominent in the attacking phase.
Normally, Schick waits till the defender picks a side, before curving his run to keep play contained to that area. Once this is done, Leverkusen apply immediate pressure, with one player closing down the ball carrier while his options are taken away. They maintained a high line which facilitates access for the fullbacks, who can thereby join the midfielders in the pressing effort.
In real time, this wave of pressure looks rather impressive:
Occasionally, Leverkusen can sport a 4–1–4–1 shape, but whenever a player pushes up to press, another moves to cover the gap. As a result, teams trying to play through the centre find that the player who drops is immediately pressured, which usually leads to a bad turnover on their part. From turnovers, Leverkusen are focused on a direct, vertical style [see video], since Seoane does not discriminate between how he wants to get up the field.
Leverkusen’s defence stays fairly narrow, with the far side fullback staying attached to the line if the ball-near FB moves to press. Otherwise, they look to minimise the gaps, & it is the wingers who guard the flanks when they are forced into a low block.
The compactness of the defence is aided by the double pivot, who look to either drop back to defend or securely move out to support the pressure applied by the forwards in the medium block.
The desire to not let opponents settle on the ball is key to Leverkusen, who always aim to disrupt possession sequences. This begins with the pressure up top, but even if they are forced back, there is not a moment when Leverkusen let opponents enjoy the ball.
While this may sound like a common Bundesliga recipe, Leverkusen are young and fast — together, these elements have ensured that they deploy an excellent press. Intense counterpressing on second balls is a key aspect, from which they look to go as quickly as possible.
However, none of this is to say that Leverkusen cannot be pressured, since pressing them in their buildup sequence & evading the counterpress are areas that can be exploited. In fact, Augsburg, Dortmund and Mainz have all managed to do it, to varying degrees of success. In particular, Augsburg and Mainz — two sides devoid of what one would consider “star” players — used collective pressing schemes to overwhelm and swarm the double pivot. It seems like this is a weakness for Leverkusen that is waiting to be exploited by a stronger team.
Additionally, analysing Leverkusen off the ball [given the sample size] is tricky since they were fortunate to take the lead against Gladbach and Augsburg. There is a strong possibility that they get stretched out of shape against sides with quality on the wings & in midfield, which is precisely why Bayern are such a challenge to navigate. It is easy to visualise Munich dragging Leverkusen wide and exploiting the halfspaces, from where targeting Lewandowski or trailing runners like Goretzka and Kimmich is an easy way to score. How they navigate teams that dominate possession [Bayern] and possess robust pressing in midfield [Wolfsburg] will be something to look out for, and a difficult run of fixtures awaits them beginning with this weekend.
OFFENCE
In the offensive phase, there have been two versions of Leverkusen — one with Moussa Diaby on the right [Gladbach, Augsburg] and games where he played on the left [Arminia, Mainz].
The distinction is vital as different dynamics operate in the final third depending on the positioning of the winger. To start with, Leverkusen typically used a standard 4–2–3–1 shape with the fullbacks advanced, wingers starting from wide & the pivot midfielders conducting the play.
The position of the fullbacks is such that they can be easily accessed, & staggering is ensured in midfield between the #10 & the pivot such that two advanced options at different depths always available to the deepest midfielder.
However, there also sequences where one of the midfielders drops into the backline, allowing the fullbacks to get into even more advanced positions while the attacking midfielders drops to support the circulation.
When the ball is in deep areas, Leverkusen bait the OPP with short passing, before displaying their vertical orientation with direct passes either over the top/into feet. If the long ball fails, they move through the flanks, where right back Frimpong’s dribbling comes in handy.
The actions of the double pivot & the accompanying movement of the fullbacks tend to create spaces between the lines for Leverkusen, which was a frequent trigger for the team to play passes into the #10’s feet.
Demirbay is good at receiving these passes, but it is Wirtz who has displayed a knack for predicting where the optimal space will be & moving into this area to catch the defence napping. This facilitates either a shot or penetrative pass.
Initially, the wingers were usually Diaby and Paulinho, who were played on their ‘wrong’ sides. Diaby was flexible in moving between the halfspace & wing with his left foot, while Paulinho (#7) generally looked to cut inside from the flank with left back Bakker overlapping. The dynamism of Bakker in particular is clearly visible here:
With Schick available as the target man who can also play quick layoff passes, the wingers’ ability to run and accelerate was Leverkusen’s method of attack. Frimpong occasionally moved into the halfspaces to combine, while the double pivot excelled at lateral circulation of the ball.
When Diaby was played on the left, it was usually Bellarabi playing on the right, and in this setup Frimpong became a key offensive cog.
Against Mainz, Bellarabi looked to play one-touch passes to let Frimpong get on the ball with his right foot in the halfspace, from where he had Wirtz, Schick & Diaby as options.
This rotation played out in different ways but the idea was to leverage Frimpong’s burst in the halfspace, while occupying defenders with goal threats like Wirtz/Schick. The right back possesses ridiculous speed which allows Leverkusen to tilt the field, with Diaby either adding to issues by playing on the same flank or by providing a parallel presence on the right.
Midway through the half versus Mainz, Diaby & Bellarabi swapped wings to re-establish the Diaby/Frimpong dynamic on the right, which led to an excellent goal that was unfortunately ruled out for being offside. However, the gravity provided by their acceleration cannot be underestimated, and Wirtz has displayed a knack for playing off his speedy wingers.
Some Final Thoughts [which, of course, will change]
With Paulinho no longer starting, it is clear that Wirtz, Diaby, Frimpong & Schick have emerged as the key attackers. Charles Aránguiz is a constant in midfield, regardless of whether it is Palacios or Demirbay partnering him. The Chilean offers a steadying veteran presence who keeps things ticking, and Palacios’ injury is unfortunate as he was really finding his feet as a dynamic organiser between the lines. Demirbay is an offensive minded player, whose instinct to attack will be exploited by better teams looking to operate in his blindside.
The pace and versatility of Frimpong makes him a vital cog from right back, where he has displayed the ability to underlap or overlap [the latter happened v. Bielefeld]. He is a genuine threat on offence but seemingly a liability in defence, where his pace bails him out quite often. How he copes with Alphonso Davies and Leroy Sané will be fascinating to watch, but it is likely that he will need strong protection from his winger & defence.
Predictably, Leverkusen continue to excel at passing out from under pressure, which was key in the Bosz years. But what was also present under Bosz — an anaemic game in the final third which often fell into a U shape — has been replaced by a faster and more incisive game. Some scepticism is still warranted as to how Seoane will play against ultra-defensive teams, where Wirtz and the wingers will be denied the space they need. Again, we are faced here with the constraints of a small sample size, but the truth will become clear over the coming weeks.
Ultimately, Leverkusen look vibrant, fun & lethal for the first time in years — a credit to Seoane empowering a new generation of players & allowing them to mesh in a coherent framework. However, it is undeniable that they have been very fortunate, and the coming weeks will be a true test for a team that is still young and unproven. The good vibes from the opening weeks can disappear quickly if at least some results don’t go their way, but Seoane deserve credit for revitalising a side that had become stale in prior season. How far they go in a league with some strong sides remains to be seen; but the hope [expectation?] is that they stay in the hunt for a top six berth throughout the season.
