Bayer Leverkusen were by no means unhappy with the 2-2 draw against Newcastle United on Wednesday evening after the match. However, one scene in the game did anger the Werkself…
“For long stretches before the break, we played a really good game,” Robert Andrich told DAZN after the match. “After the break, we had a few sleepy phases. We then conceded another cross,“ said the national player, referring to the build-up to the 2-1 lead. ”From the 65th minute onwards, we ran out of steam a bit, so I’m very happy with the point,” summed up the 31-year-old in view of Alejandro Grimaldo’s late equalizer.
Andrich: “Rarely seen such a fatal mistake”
Andrich had a clear opinion on one scene in particular from Leverkusen’s strong first half, which could have changed the course of the game had Dutch referee Serdar Gözübüyük made a different decision. Malick Thiaw prevented a clear scoring opportunity by holding Patrik Schick at the edge of the penalty area. Gözübüyük immediately pointed to the spot, but after consulting with VAR Rob Dieperink, he quickly decided to place the scene of the incident outside the box.
However, it was not so much the decision to award a free kick that angered the Werkself afterwards. ” I don’t think that was a penalty,“ said Andrich, who nevertheless went so far as to say that he had ”rarely seen such a fatal misjudgment.“ ”With all due respect, if that’s not a penalty, then it has to be a red card, and then it would certainly be a different game,” Andrich continued in no uncertain terms.
How bad is Schick’s injury?
On top of that, Andrich (“If you look at his Achilles tendon, that alone is enough for a red card”) also hinted that it was obviously not just Thiaw’s holding that caused Schick to fall. In fact, after the foul, the Czech player was treated on the pitch for a long time and then on the sideline – and remained on the sidelines after the break.
After the game, Schick left the BayArena limping. It is therefore still unclear whether coach Kasper Hjulmand, who is set to return at the weekend after his absence on Wednesday evening for personal reasons, will be able to count on the 29-year-old again in Saturday evening’s derby against 1. FC Köln (6:30 p.m.).
