Afonso Moreira Shines as Bayer Leverkusen Defeats Genk 4-0
Bayer Leverkusen’s summer rhythm shows no sign of slowing. Back on home soil at the compact Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion, Carles Martínez’s side brushed aside Genk 4-0 on Wednesday to maintain a flawless pre-season, and did it with the swagger of a team already sure of its identity.
Moreira steals the show again
The headline belongs once more to Afonso Moreira. The summer signing is treating pre-season like his own personal audition and passing every test in bold ink. He has scored in every friendly so far, and against Genk he again found the net before turning provider for the final goal.
His strike came in the second half, a clinical finish that underlined why the coaching staff increasingly see him as more than just a promising option. Moments later, he slipped into the role of creator, supplying a well-timed assist for Christian Kofane to make it four. Sharp movement, clean execution, and a calmness in the box: Moreira is playing like a man who expects to start.
With Kerim Alajbegovic and Martin Terrier edging towards the exit, the Portuguese winger is not just filling a gap on the left flank. He is staking a claim to own it.
Belocian breaks through, Tella doubles up
Leverkusen’s dominance began early. Playing at the club’s youth ground gave the evening a stripped-back feel, but the football was anything but low-key. Jeanuel Belocian opened the scoring, finishing off a move sparked by Edmond Tapsoba’s incisive through ball from deep. One pass, one run, one ruthless conclusion.
Loïc Badé thought he had joined his fellow French defender on the scoresheet, only to see his effort ruled out for offside. It would have been the perfect moment for the centre-back, but the flag cut short the celebrations.
The pressure did not ease. Before half-time, Nathan Tella made it 2-0, finishing after Jonas Hofmann pounced in the final third to win back possession. It was the sort of goal that coaches love in pre-season: aggressive pressing, quick transition, and a simple finish to cap it off. Carles Martínez’s blueprint was written all over it.
Second-half surge before the reset
After the interval, Leverkusen turned the screw. Two quickfire goals killed any lingering resistance from the Belgian visitors before the hour mark and allowed Martínez to change the entire lineup without disrupting the mood.
Moreira’s fourth goal of pre-season arrived with the confidence of a player in rhythm. No fuss, no hesitation, just a clean, decisive strike. Kofane’s goal, arriving only a couple of minutes later from Moreira’s neat assist, felt like confirmation of Leverkusen’s control rather than a surprise flourish.
Once the wholesale changes came, the tempo naturally dipped, but the work had already been done. The scoreline, and the manner of it, told the story of a squad in sync with its coach and increasingly clear about roles and hierarchy.
Pre-season can deceive, but patterns matter. Right now, one pattern stands out in Leverkusen’s summer: Afonso Moreira starts, Afonso Moreira scores, and the case for him to open the season as the first-choice left winger grows stronger with every touch.
