Grimaldo Lights It Up – And Hjulmand Brings the Heat!

Alright, dear Bayer 04 faithful: after a summer of painful goodbyes, tactical confusion, and a certain Dutchman making every game feel like a root canal with extra anesthesia, who would’ve thought that this season could actually start with... fireworks? Literal ones? Not quite. But when Alejandro Grimaldo is on the pitch, a direct free-kick basically counts as a pyrotechnic event.

Bayer 04 beat Eintracht Frankfurt 3–1. At home. On a Friday night. Under the floodlights. In double bloody numerical inferiority. I repeat: we finished the game with nine players. And we still scored a last-minute goal to seal the deal. If that doesn’t scream mental strength, tactical clarity and some good old-fashioned Werkself madness, I don’t know what does.

Let’s rewind a bit. New coach Kasper Hjulmand is making his BayArena debut. He’s only had a few training sessions with the team after the whole Ten Hag saga (don’t ask), and yet – there he stands, calm and composed like a Scandinavian chess grandmaster. And his team? Not only do they play like they know what they’re doing – they fight, they suffer, and they win.

Grimaldo. What else is there to say? This man treats free-kicks like he’s playing darts at a pub. The first one? Perfectly curled into the corner. The second? Even more ridiculous. Two direct free-kicks in one game. That’s not football anymore – that’s art. That’s physics-defying, goalkeeper-demoralising, wall-useless magic. He now has six (!) direct free-kick goals since joining us in 2023. More than any player in Europe’s top leagues. In fact, we might need to rename set pieces “Grimaldos” at this point.

But it wasn’t just his show. This was a collective masterclass in grit and discipline. Palacios went off early. Andrich got sent off. Then later Fernández followed. We finished the match with two men less. And yet, we defended like maniacs. Badé, in his first start, played like he’s been here for years. Tapsoba turned into a general. And up front, Schick was colder than a Danish winter – burying his penalty like it was nothing, bringing his tally to 15 league goals in 2025. Only Mbappé and Guirassy have more in the big leagues. So yes, let him keep doing his thing – just wrap him in bubble wrap between games.

And now let’s talk Hjulmand. What a debut. No screaming, no showboating, just structure, clarity, and a team that suddenly looks like it knows exactly what it’s supposed to do. After months of chaos, rotating lineups, and midfielders pretending to be defenders, this felt like finally switching your old VHS player for a 4K OLED TV. Clean, crisp, and way more satisfying.

Frankfurt? Sure, they had more of the ball. But they looked about as dangerous as a balloon sword. They scored once, but never really looked like they’d take the game. Bayer, on the other hand, played like a team possessed – especially after going down to nine. That last Grimaldo goal in minute 99 (yes, really) was the perfect ending to a wild night: a team that refuses to lose, refuses to fold, and refuses to let go of the momentum it so desperately needed.

Let’s not forget: this game came after a shaky draw in Bremen and the drama of a managerial switch. But now? Now there’s hope. There’s fire. There’s energy. And with Champions League action coming up next week in Copenhagen – Hjulmand’s hometown, no less – there’s a chance for the next statement.

Because this Bayer team, even after losing stars like Wirtz, Frimpong, and Xhaka, has something you can’t just buy: heart, identity, and a left-back who makes free-kicks look like a cheat code.

Werkself is back. And we're bringing fireworks.