Super Eagles star Nathan Tella experienced a dramatic evening at the BayArena on Saturday as Bayer Leverkusen narrowly edged past St. Pauli Hamburg in a thrilling Bundesliga matchday 13 encounter.
Despite delivering a standout performance, Tella suffered a double VAR heartbreak, with two of his potential goals ruled out, denying him a chance to score in consecutive games, Footballrover reports.
The match ultimately ended in a 2-1 victory for Leverkusen, but not without tense moments.
Bayer Leverkusen’s early dominance
Leverkusen asserted control early, breaking the deadlock in the sixth minute through Florian Wirtz.
The 20-year-old showed his class by nutmegging Eric Smith before slotting the ball past Nikola Vasilj, marking his 30th Bundesliga goal.
A second goal followed when Jonathan Tah capitalised on a corner, heading in clinically after a defensive lapse by St. Pauli.
Despite Leverkusen’s dominance, there were nervy moments. Jonathan Tah almost gifted St. Pauli an equaliser with a wayward pass that looped dangerously close to his goalkeeper, Lukáš Hrádecký, who managed to keep the ball out.
Nathan Tella’s VAR misfortune takes centre stage
Nathan Tella, riding high after his match-winning goal against Bayern Munich in the DFB-Pokal, appeared poised to extend his fine form.
Just before halftime, Granit Xhaka set him up with a precise pass, and Tella’s skilful dummy left the goalkeeper grounded as he slotted the ball into the net.
However, VAR intervened, ruling the Nigerian forward marginally offside.
In the second half, Tella saw another attempt disallowed when he positioned himself beyond the last defender, but his move prompted the referee to halt play following the linesman’s offside signal.
A frustrating evening for Tella.
Late drama as St. Pauli push back
St. Pauli mounted a late challenge in the 84th minute when Morgan Guilavogui twisted past Arthur and unleashed a thunderous strike that beat Hrádecký.
The goal sparked nerves among the home fans, but Leverkusen’s defence held firm, securing a hard-fought victory.
Leverkusen’s unbeaten streak against promoted teams
With this result, Bayer Leverkusen extended their unbeaten streak against promoted Bundesliga teams to 14 matches.
The win also marked their fifth consecutive victory across all competitions and their third successive Bundesliga win this season.
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