Bayer Leverkusen Dominates Genk 4-0 in Pre-Season Clash
Bayer Leverkusen’s pre-season is starting to look ominous for the rest of Germany.
Back at the compact Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion, usually the stage for the club’s youth sides, Carles Martínez sent out a team that played with the swagger of established champions, sweeping aside Genk 4-0 and extending a flawless summer run.
Belocian sets the tone
Leverkusen did not waste time. Edmond Tapsoba, stepping confidently out of defence, sliced Genk open with an incisive through ball that split the lines and invited trouble. Jeanuel Belocian accepted the invitation, racing through and finishing to give Die Werkself an early lead.
The French defender thought he had a second, too. Loïc Badé powered home what looked like the perfect follow-up, only to see the flag go up and the goal wiped out for offside. It didn’t change the rhythm. Leverkusen stayed on the front foot, squeezing Genk high and forcing mistakes.
The pressure told again before the break. After Leverkusen won the ball back in the final third, Jonas Hofmann picked his moment and slipped in Nathan Tella, who coolly doubled the advantage. It was the kind of goal that summed up Martínez’s approach: aggression without the ball, precision with it.
Moreira steals the spotlight
If the first half belonged to Leverkusen’s structure, the second belonged to Afonso Moreira.
The summer signing has wasted no time announcing himself, and he extended his remarkable pre-season streak here. Every game, a goal. Genk were the latest to suffer. When the chance came, Moreira’s finish was clinical, his fourth goal of the summer and another reminder that he carries penalty-box composure as naturally as touchline flair.
Leverkusen smelled blood. Before Martínez rotated his entire XI on the hour, the hosts struck again. Moreira, now brimming with confidence, turned provider, stitching together a well-worked move that ended with Christian Kofane adding the fourth. One ruthless attack, one simple conclusion: this side does not ease off.
By the time the wholesale changes arrived, the contest was over. The scoreline, though, told only part of the story. Leverkusen looked sharp, aggressive, and already in tune with their coach’s demands.
A left wing changing hands
Behind the goals, a sub-plot is taking shape on the flanks. With Kerim Alajbegovic and Martin Terrier edging towards the exit, the left wing suddenly feels like open territory.
Moreira is seizing it.
Four games, four goals, and now an assist to go with them. He is not just padding pre-season numbers; he is building a compelling case to start when the real football begins. In a squad stacked with attacking options, that takes more than talent. It takes timing, conviction, and the kind of performances that make it difficult for a coach to look elsewhere.
On this evidence, Afonso Moreira is doing exactly that. The question now is simple: when the Bundesliga kicks off, can anyone take that shirt off him?
