Bayer Leverkusen 3-1 Eintracht Frankfurt: Hjulmand starts reign with Bundesliga win
Bayer Leverkusen managed to win their first Bundesliga match of the season despite a red card to captain Robert Andrich.
Kasper Hjulmand made a winning start as Bayer Leverkusen head coach after a 3-1 win over in-form Eintracht Frankfurt.
A brace from Alejandro Grimaldo and a Patrik Schick penalty helped Leverkusen hold on for all three points at the BayArena after red cards for Robert Andrich and Ezequiel Fernandez either side of Can Uzun's strike for the visitors.
Grimaldo opened the scoring after just 10 minutes with a brilliant free-kick from close to 25 yards out. He curled the ball over the wall before his strike ricocheted in off a helpless Michael Zetterer in the Frankfurt goal.
Leverkusen looked to push on from that opening goal, with Nathan Tella, Jarell Quansah, Aleix Garcia and Loic Bade all hitting the target before Schick eventually doubled their lead from the penalty spot in first-half additional time after Tella was brought down by Robin Koch.
However, Frankfurt made a fast start in the second half after 19-year-old Uzun scored in the 51st minute. Leverkusen failed to clear their lines from a corner and the midfielder's deflected volley could not be kept out by Mark Flekken.
Leverkusen were then forced into a nervy finish after Andrich was shown a second yellow card for a late challenge on Ritsu Doan just before the hour mark, and Nnamdi Collins struck the woodwork less than a minute later.
But despite another red card, this time to second-half substitute Fernandez, Grimaldo managed to grab his second of the match in the eighth minute of additional time to secure the win for Leverkusen.
Data Debrief: Schick haunts Frankfurt again
Leverkusen's first-half dominance paid off in the end, while they accumulated 2.05 expected goals from 18 shots, to Frankfurt's 0.67 from 13 attempts and just two on target.
Schick enjoys facing Frankfurt in the Bundesliga, now scoring six times against them in the competition, his most against any opposition (also six against Freiburg and Hoffenheim).
Leverkusen have also snapped a five-match winless run in the league as Hjulmand will now look to help the 2024 champions build on this win.
