FC St. Pauli

After the convincing 3-1 home win over Holstein Kiel head coach Alexander Blessin named an unchanged side for the visit to Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen. Home supremo Xabi Alonso, in contrast, made four changes to the team that won 1-0 at Bayern Munich in midweek, Lukas Hradecky, Arthur, Aleix Garcia and Nathan Tella coming in for Matej Kovar, Nordi Mukiele, Robert Andrich and Jeremie Frimpong, who all dropped to the bench.

Unbeaten in 10 league outings, Leverkusen unsurprisingly seized control and took an early lead, something they have done several times this season. Just six minutes in, Granit Xhaka knocked a pass to Florian Wirtz in the centre, who eased past Eric Smith before leaving Nikola Vasilj no chance with a shot into the bottom left corner from 11 metres.

In the ensuing period the Boys in Brown were kept busy at the back, and though they bravely pushed forward whenever they could, they lacked punch in the final third. The home side likewise struggled to create chances but still doubled their advantage from a corner in the 21^st minute. Aleix Garcia hit the ball into the box with pace and Jonathan Tah was allowed the space to head home from close range. Ruthless efficiency from the home side, who needed just two attempts on goal to open up a two-goal lead.

The Blessin XI fashioned their first opening just before the half-hour when Oladapo Afolayan unloaded from 20 metres. His shot took a slight deflection but posed no problems for Lukáš Hrádecký in the Leverkusen goal. Six minutes later Johannes Eggestein dispatched a cross from the right towards Afolayan, who was left completely unmarked in the middle, but the ball flew a good metre over his head.

Then, on the stroke of half-time, Nathan Tella collected a pass from Xhaka before rounding Vasilj and slotting the ball into the net, but it went to VAR and the goal was chalked off for the narrowest of offsides. Moments later, Afolayan did well to take the ball past two defenders, but his intended assist found no takers, and it remained 2-0 at the interval.

Oladapo Afolayan under challenge from Leverkusen's Arthur.

Neither coach made a change at half-time, and the pattern remained the same on the pitch, too, with the hosts dictating the proceedings without ever catching the eye. The Boys in Brown kept things tight at the back, ensuring the league's third best attacking force made little headway, but needed to step up a gear going forward if they were to take anything back to Hamburg

From a 54^th minute corner Philipp Treu hit the ball towards the back post from the left and Morgan Guilavogui came within a whisker of getting on the end of it. Another corner brought more danger, but Hrádecký eventually brought the ball under control. The Blessin XI continued to probe and Afolayan duped Arthur in the box before whipping the ball across goal to Guilavogui, who prodded it narrowly wide of the right-hand post with his outstretched leg. If anyone was likely to score now, it was the Boys in Brown.

That spate of chances stung Leverkusen into action, however, and with 65 minutes gone Wirtz knocked an outstanding ball to Tella, but he failed to control it properly and the chance was gone. Soon after that, Eric Smith nipped in at the last minute to clear before Tella could pounce and then Wirtz failed to take advantage of a mistake in the build-up, firing wide left from the edge of the box.

With the game entering the closing stages, Danel Sinani came on for Carlo Boukhalfa and could only look on as Xhaka took aim from range. Fortunately, the ball fizzed just wide of the left-hand upright. Eggestein then had an opportunity at the other end, and his distance effort also flew narrowly wide of the target.

Three minutes later, however, the ball did find the net, Guilavogui wrongfooting Arthur on the left and rifling a shot beyond Hrádecký into the roof of the net from the left-hand corner of the goal area. The Boys in Brown continued to press and Sinani threaded a ball through the box to Eggestein, whose shot was only narrowly off target. Blessin went all-out attack with a triple substitution and within moments of coming on Andreas Albers headed into the side netting from Treu's centre.

Bayer Leverkusen

Hrádecký - Tapsoba, Tah, Hincapie - Xhaka - Arthur, Palacios (Frimpong 59'), Aleix Garcia, Grimaldo (Belocian 78') - Tella (Andrich 86'), Wirtz (Terrier 78')

Head coach: Xabi Alonso

FC St. Pauli

Vasilj - Wahl, Smith, Nemeth (Dźwigała 89') - Saliakas (Ritzka 89'), Irvine, Boukhalfa (Sinani 78'), Treu - Guilavogui, Eggestein (Albers 89'), Afolayan (Ahlstrand 82')

Head coach: Alexander Blessin

Goals: 1-0 Wirtz (6'), 2-0 Tah (21'), 2-1 Guilavogui (84')

Yellow cards: Hincapie – Guilavogui (his fifth, suspended against Bremen), Saliakas, Dźwigała

Referee: Matthias Jöllenbeck (Freiburg)

Attendance: 30,210 (sold out)

Photos: FC St. Pauli/Witters