Bundesliga
Substitute Ernest Poku sealed a narrow win for Bayer Leverkusen over St. Pauli following earlier strikes from Edmond Tapsoba and Hauke Wahl.
St. Pauli 1-2 Bayer Leverkusen
Goals: 0-1 Tapsoba 25' (assist: Grimaldo), 1-1 Wahl 32' (assist: Sinani), 1-2 Poku 58' (assist: Grimaldo)
Alexander Blessin's St. Pauli had enjoyed their best-ever start to a Bundesliga season, going unbeaten through their first three games before suffering defeat in Stuttgart last weekend. Visitors Leverkusen, meanwhile, went into the encounter unbeaten in three competitive matches under new head coach Kasper Hjulmand.
The hosts made the more assertive start at the Millerntor, with Eric Smith heading narrowly wide from a Mathias Pereira Lage corner in the second minute. St. Pauli continued to threaten, with Andréas Hountondji's deflected effort just clearing the crossbar after 11 minutes.
Despite the home side's pressure, it was Leverkusen who struck first. Alejandro Grimaldo delivered a free-kick from the right, and after Wahl's attempted clearance, Tapsoba was perfectly positioned to finish from five yards.
St. Pauli responded brilliantly, equalising just seven minutes later when Mark Flekken spilled a corner, and Wahl reacted quickest to hook the ball into the net.
The second half began with Ezequiel Fernández replacing the injured Robert Andrich for Leverkusen, but it was St. Pauli who seized the initiative. The hosts forced multiple corners and tested Flekken through Louis Oppie, Manolis Saliakas and Danel Sinani as they dominated the opening exchanges after the break.
Hjulmand responded with a double substitution on 56 minutes, introducing Poku and Lucas Vázquez - a decision that proved inspired. Just two minutes later, Grimaldo found Poku with a precise pass, and the Dutch forward finished coolly past Vasilj to restore Leverkusen's lead with his very first touch in the match.
Despite St. Pauli continuing to press, creating 12 shots to Leverkusen's five overall, the visitors' defence held firm.
Despite ending up on the losing side, Wahl produced an outstanding performance for St. Pauli. The defender not only scored his first Bundesliga goal to equalise in the first half, but he was also instrumental in keeping Patrik Schick quiet throughout the match. Wahl won 63 percent of his duels and was the top fantasy points scorer with 289 points.
Bundesliga Match Facts
xGoals: St. Pauli 1.09 - Leverkusen 0.81
Fastest player: Ernest Poku (Leverkusen), 34.26 km/h
Lowest goal probability: 1-1 by Hauke Wahl (Pauli), 23 percent
Most pressed player: Danel Sinani (Pauli), 18 times under pressure
Pass efficiency: Aleix García (Leverkusen), 2.39
Fantasy Heroes: Hauke Wahl (Pauli, 289 Points), Edmond Tapsoba (Leverkusen, 275 Points), Alejandro Grimaldo (Leverkusen, 257 Points)