‘A lot was missing’ — Bayer Leverkusen star laments loss to village team without Boniface

Bayer Leverkusen goalkeeper Mark Flekken delivered a brutal assessment of his side after their shock 3-2 Bundesliga defeat to newly promoted SV Elversberg on Saturday.

The result raised early concerns for the Werkself, who once again endured a disastrous start to a new campaign.

Leverkusen found themselves in serious trouble almost immediately, falling 2-0 behind within the opening nine minutes against an Elversberg side enjoying a historic night.

Things failed to improve after the interval, with the hosts adding a third goal shortly after the restart. Although Leverkusen mounted a late comeback, it was ultimately too little to rescue a point.

New captain Edmond Tapsoba endured a difficult outing as Leverkusen struggled to impose themselves against the Bundesliga newcomers. Speaking to Sky Germany after the final whistle, Flekken did not hide his frustration with the team's display.

“As an entire team, we have to question how we started both halves,” the goalkeeper said. “With the mentality and attitude we showed, we can’t win a game.”

Flekken admitted that several fundamental qualities were absent from Leverkusen's performance and warned that the team cannot afford to repeat the same mistakes.

“A lot was missing today. Mental capacity was missing. Energy was missing. Understanding of the game was missing,” he added.

The goalkeeper was particularly frustrated that Leverkusen repeated their slow start after half-time, despite already being punished heavily in the opening period.

“If you already start the first half like that, go 2-0 down very early, and then repeat it again in the second half, then quite a lot is missing,” Flekken continued.

The Dutch goalkeeper, however, insisted that there is still plenty of time to turn things around, while making clear that Saturday's performance cannot become a habit.

“I don’t want to throw the whole team under the bus. It’s still a long season. But it can’t and mustn’t continue like this,” he concluded, hopeful that the 2024 Bundesliga champions would get back to the form that helped them clinch an unlikely title in an invincible season.