The VAR had free time in Prague

Totally incomprehensible how Karim Bellarabi can be shown red for the scene in the 22nd minute. The referee came from Scotland and in the home league the situation would probably not even have drawn yellow. Since the VAR is not used in the group phase of the EuropaLeague, the red card was irrefutable. The referee would have been better off consulting the television pictures, even though I know that is not possible. But of course such a scene can and did make the game tip over.

I am sure that our "B team" would have won the game in Prague if it had gone on with eleven players. And so it came about as it had to, conceding a goal ten minutes before the end and leaving the chances for a possible equaliser. Nevertheless, the Werkself should have taken more with them, so it was a disappointing evening.

Good result, but still no sunshine

The most important thing is that the Werkself still hasn't lost to Augsburg and with a fighting performance in the end they have a deserved triple against the Herrlich troupe.

It was certainly not brilliant from a playing point of view, there is still room for improvement, but football is a sport for results. And suddenly we jump from midfield to 4th place in the Bundesliga table and are the only unbeaten team so far, apart from Leipzig and Wolfsburg.

After the game is then already before the game again. Now it's straight back to three away games: Prague, Freiburg and Israel are the stops. Everything possible and games in which the Werkself can continue to fuel their self-confidence, so that they can continue to speak of a good start to the season.

Promising start to the EuroLeague

I would have expected more from a top French team than what I saw tonight in the BayArena in Nice. The Werkself started the game in a concentrated manner and took an early 2-0 lead through consistent pursuit and a hammer goal from Lucas Alario. Nice came close to 2:1 and you had the feeling that the equalizer would also fall until halftime if the referee had let the game play a little longer in halftime.

Thank God the picture has turned around in the second half. And I was again strengthened in my opinion that Karim Bellarabi is much more dangerous as a substitute than when he is in the starting eleven.  His two goals today are clear proof of this. The second goal of the French team after 6:1 was only cosmetic, but it also shows that you can't be casual in your own defense during the 90 minutes. 

All in all a promising start into the EuroLeague. If this victory and the hope that Nice is actually the second best team in our group doesn't get you through the winter internationally, then I don't understand the world anymore.

Now the English weeks will continue in the same vein. Monday at home against Augsburg with Heiko Herrlich and Thursday evening in Prague before Sunday it goes to Freiburg. Today's victory gives tailwind. The defense was stable despite the two goals scored and the lightness seems to have returned to the front. 

Good result, nothing more

The most important news of the weekend is that the Werkself scored three points in Mainz. In my opinion, however, it was not a nice game and was characterised by a certain lack of ideas on both sides. I had expected much more from our team. Okay, half of the Temas was in pointless international matches around the world. But that's why it's now the job of the coaching team to promote the ideas on the pitch and to let the team play attractive football again. How it works could be seen impressively at the start of the year until the last game in Glasgow before the Corona break. We have to come back to that. The next two home games against Nice and Augsburg could be the first important steps towards this.

Slowly it hurts

In good German one would say that the last week was an epidemic week for the Bavarian. First the unnecessary 1:1 at the ascent in Stuttgart with the injuries of Schick and Sinkgraven, then the unnecessary discussions at the end of the transfer window and now also the killer injury of our Colombian newcomer Santiago Arias. So you can somehow be glad that the national teams are currently playing without Leverkusen players so that no one else gets hurt.

And at the end of the transfer window without further new commitments: After the Havertz sale, it was clear that every selling club wanted to get a bonus from the Bavarian for its players. In this respect, the economic approach of our responsible persons is absolutely correct, not to pay every moon transfer price and every moon transfer salary. Now it is the trainer's responsibility to bring Mr. Dragovic, Jedvaj and Weiser into shape during training so that they can make a valuable contribution to the club and earn their salary.

The next few weeks will be difficult due to the density of the games and the supposedly broad squad is suddenly no longer so broad. I am still in good spirits, but slowly it is starting to hurt.