Hjulmand lauds Leverkusen's 'energy' after winning start

Kasper Hjulmand hailed Bayer Leverkusen's "energy" and defensive solidity after he made a winning start against Eintracht Frankfurt.

Alex Grimaldo scored a brace, with Patrik Schick also scoring a first-half penalty as Leverkusen held on for all three points, despite having Robert Andrich and Ezequiel Fernandez sent off on either side of Can Uzun's strike for the visitors.

It was a win that saw Leverkusen snap a five-game winless run in the league, mostly thanks to a spirited first-half performance.

Despite the tumultuous nature of his first match in charge, Hjulmand walked away from the BayArena in high spirits.

"What a match. A lot happened, but we got the three points, and I am very happy," Hjulmand, who was named as Erik ten Hag's replacement on Monday, said.

"I said congratulations – also that I think we did not allow many chances, that we had a lot of energy, and that we worked a lot defensively.

"We can definitely improve, of course, but three points are very important for us."

Leverkusen finished the match with 2.1 expected goals (xG) compared to Eintracht’s 0.7, with the hosts accumulating most of that during the first half (1.6).

Before the break, Eintracht also failed to have a single shot on target, and only managed two in the second half, both of which came after Andrich's sending-off.

"It was very nice in the stadium, a lot of energy – as I said on the defensive side, our high pressing was good in the first half," Hjulmand added.

"I think we were very, very compact with the back line; we did not allow much, only two shots. We created chances and were strong when we needed to press."

And when asked how he handled the situation relating to the two red cards, he said: "I do not want to criticise too much – I think that there was one major misunderstanding.

"[Regarding Ezequiel Fernandez's motion to referee Deniz Aytekin], I think that the official saw a hand movement, and it was a complete misunderstanding. But apart from that, I have not seen it a second time.

"I just want to enjoy the win, and then we will see."