Leverkusen Suffer First Home Defeat As Stuttgart Strike Four Times At BayArena

Bayer Leverkusen suffered their first home defeat of the season on Saturday afternoon, falling 4-2 to VfB Stuttgart in a disappointing Bundesliga performance that raised further questions about Carles Martínez's defensive organisation.

Ermedin Demirović scored twice for Stuttgart, while Jamie Leweling and Bilal El Khannouss also found the net as Sebastian Hoeneß's side ended Leverkusen's perfect record at the BayArena.

Patrik Schick and Ibrahim Maza scored for Die Werkself, but their contributions were not enough to prevent a second consecutive Bundesliga defeat following last weekend's 3-0 loss against Hoffenheim.

The result was particularly frustrating after Leverkusen had won their previous six home matches across all competitions.

Stuttgart Punish Leverkusen's Defensive Mistakes

Martínez made five changes to the team that defeated Nürnberg 5-2 in the DFB-Pokal, restoring Mark Flekken, Jarell Quansah, Ezequiel Fernández, Ibrahim Maza and Patrik Schick to the starting eleven.

However, Leverkusen's defensive problems emerged almost immediately.

Stuttgart took the lead in the 14th minute after a combination between El Khannouss and Deniz Undav created an opportunity inside the penalty area. Flekken saved the initial effort, but Demirović reacted quickest to convert the rebound.

Eight minutes later, the visitors doubled their advantage following a corner. Flekken kept out Grischa Prömel's effort, only for the loose ball to fall to Leweling, who bundled it over the line.

Leverkusen responded through Schick in the 28th minute, with the Czech striker heading home Aleix García's corner to reduce the deficit.

Maza nearly completed the comeback before half-time, striking the crossbar from another corner, but Stuttgart remained ahead at the interval.

El Khannouss Wins North African Battle Against Maza

One of the most anticipated individual storylines involved Leverkusen's Algerian international Ibrahim Maza and Stuttgart's Moroccan playmaker Bilal El Khannouss.

Both players were heavily involved in their teams' attacking play, but El Khannouss delivered the decisive contribution shortly after the restart.

In the 51st minute, Chris Führich released the Moroccan down the left, allowing him to advance towards the edge of the penalty area before driving a precise shot into the far corner.

The goal restored Stuttgart's two-goal advantage and left Leverkusen facing another difficult comeback.

Things deteriorated further in the 65th minute when Undav delivered an excellent pass across the penalty area for Demirović, who finished from close range to complete his brace.

At 4-1, Stuttgart had effectively settled the contest.

Maza continued pushing forward and was rewarded in the 79th minute, meeting Miguel Gutiérrez's cross with a header at the far post.

It was an impressive finish from the 20-year-old, but the goal came too late to change the outcome.

The two North African internationals had both scored, although El Khannouss ultimately celebrated the victory.

Martínez Faces Growing Defensive Concerns

Leverkusen's attacking efforts were not enough to compensate for their problems without the ball.

The hosts attempted 24 shots, but Stuttgart created the clearer opportunities and finished with 3.23 expected goals compared with Leverkusen's 1.77.

The opening two goals exposed Leverkusen's inability to deal with second balls inside their own penalty area, while Stuttgart's third and fourth demonstrated how quickly the visitors could exploit space during attacking transitions.

It was also the second successive Bundesliga match in which Martínez's side conceded at least three goals.

After allowing Nürnberg to establish a 2-0 lead in Wednesday's cup encounter, Leverkusen once again found themselves chasing the game because of an ineffective opening period.

This time, however, there was no dramatic comeback.

Leverkusen Must Respond Against Marseille

The defeat leaves Martínez facing a difficult task ahead of another demanding week.

Leverkusen return to European action on Thursday, November 5, when they host Olympique Marseille in the Europa League.

Three days later, Die Werkself travel to face 1. FC Köln in a Bundesliga derby.

With six goals conceded across their last two league matches and their unbeaten home record now gone, Leverkusen need more than another attacking response.

Martínez must find a way to make his team considerably harder to break down, particularly against opponents capable of exploiting mistakes with the efficiency Stuttgart demonstrated on Saturday.