Third division team Rot-Weiss Essen lost 2:1 against Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Sandro Plechaty, a player who had already been sent off, was allowed to play for RWE again.

Rot-Weiss Essen had invited a very special guest to Hafenstraße as a tough test before the third league opener against Alemannia Aachen (August 3): Bayer 04 Leverkusen, the reigning double winners, traveled to Essen. Last year, the Werkself was the strongest team in Europe.

The two teams last met in the DFB Cup round of 16 in 2021, when RWE sensationally won 2:1 after extra time as a fourth-division team. As expected, this success could not be repeated almost three and a half years later, but RWE still sold itself dearly and “only” lost 2:1 (0:1).

Leonardo Vonic (89′) scored for the third-division club, while Nathan Tella (44′) and Patrik Schick (70′) scored for Leverkusen. After the final whistle, Essen head coach Christoph Dabrowski was thoroughly satisfied with his team’s committed performance:

“That was a super endurance test at a high level. We were challenged to the maximum, of course we knew that. You could see the quality and ball security of Leverkusen. But I thought they were totally compact defensively, especially in the first half. We were very disciplined. Both goals we conceded were unfortunately very annoying. We should have had much more composure, clarity and patience in the transition situations. But we made good progress. We reached our limits, that was the plan. “

We’re getting together now because we need quality and breadth in the squad. With Sandro, we know what we have in the boy. He can play on the right and left. Sandro knows his tasks and has solved them sensibly. We will make a decision soon.

Christoph Dabrowski on Sandro Plechaty

An old acquaintance, Sandro Plechaty, was also allowed to play in the test. The 26-year-old, who wore the RWE jersey from 2020 to 2024 and played 104 competitive matches (9 goals, 24 assists) during this period, had been without a club since July 1 and came on as a “guest player” in the 68th minute against the German champions. He has been keeping fit at Hafenstrasse since Tuesday and is now once again a serious candidate for a new contract.

Dabrowski is looking ahead: “We’re getting together now because we need quality and width in the squad. With Sandro, we know what we have in the boy. He can play on the right and left. Sandro knows his tasks and has solved them sensibly. We will make a decision soon. “

“RWE – Bayer Leverkusen July 26, 2024” src=“https://forecasting-sports.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/1.598_norm-1.jpg” width=“680” height=“440” /☻

From Monday, Rot-Weiss Essen will enter the last week of training before the first league match against promoted team and permanent rivals Alemannia Aachen