The third best-ever 23-game start to a Bundesliga season – and the best by a side not named Bayern Munich – has put Leverkusen firmly into the driving seat for the title, and Jonas Hofmann fired a warning shot as his strike brushed the outside of the post inside three minutes.
A brief spell on the front foot saw Dejan Ljubicic head Linton Maina’s ball just wide for the relegation-battling hosts, but their job against so-far unbeaten opposition was made all the more difficult when Jan Thielmann was shown the red card for stepping on the back of Granit Xhaka’s heel – even if it looked accidental.
As if they needed any further encouragement, Leverkusen knew they could extend their lead at the summit after closest-pursuers Bayern drew with Freiburg on Friday night, and they turned up the heat as the break approached. A close miss for Alex Grimaldo from a free-kick was a sign of things to come, and the deadlock was finally broken seven minutes before the break.
Grimaldo’s ball in was flicked on by Patrik Schick, leaving Jeremie Frimpong to run in and slide it between Marvin Schwabe’s legs to bag his third goal in four games.
Koln weren’t without their chances in the first half, and they continued to defy their personnel deficit with more after play resumed. In fact, they could have had parity when Sargis Adamyan – making his first league start in nearly a year – volleyed Rasmus Carstensen’s cross agonisingly against the post, but the tide turned after that.
Leverkusen were knocking on the door for a while before Grimaldo made it two, as he came inside to profit from Amine Adli’s cutback and fire past Schwabe, albeit with a deflection off Julian Chabot.
That strike took the combined Bundesliga goal contributions tally of Leverkusen’s wing-backs to 32, a remarkable number considering their defensive contributions as their side saw out the victory.
With 10 games remaining, Leverkusen’s double-figure points advantage will surely be enough to earn the ‘Eternal Bridesmaids’ their maiden German title after coming up just short on five previous occasions.
Timo Schulz can’t have expected too much ahead of this one, but his side’s performance levels when a man down will provide encouragement that they can at least avoid automatic relegation come the end of the season.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Alex Grimaldo (Bayer Leverkusen)
