Karim Bellarabi is accustomed to a high tempo. He’s quick, he acts quickly and he scores quickly. He scored after only nine seconds against Borussia Dortmund to net the quickest goal in Bundesliga history. But for him, it’s not fast enough. His second international game came quickly after the first, which is usually the case, and for Bellarabi things have moved quickly in his move to the top. Ahead of Bayer Leverkusen’s Champions League game against Zenit St. Petersburg on Wednesday (20:45 CEST), he got to know how quickly things can change in another aspect of the game. 45 minutes were enough for VfB Stuttgart to turn things round against Leverkusen on Saturday.
Previously, it seemed as if the Bellarabi festival would continue without stopping. Highlight followed highlight followed highlight. It began with his call-up to the national team for the games against Poland and Ireland. Bellarabi came into the DFB Team having played for the under-20s and under-21s and had to get to know the world of the World Champions. He was very modest: “For me, it’s a reward to get invited into this team of players,” he said on the first evening in the Kennedy Villa.
At the time, it wasn’t clear that Bellarabi would have started his international career so spectacularly, like few before him. The Leverkusen player is the 73rd player to make their debut under Löw and it’s hard to say whether any of the 72 players before him made such an impression on their debuts. He played so well against Poland that Joachim Löw spoke to him a day before the game against Ireland to tell him that he would be starting. Bellarabi was confident in both games, but he didn’t enjoy them because Germany lost against Poland and drew against Ireland- he’s still waiting for his first win with the senior team.
Momentum gained from national team
Nevertheless, he has returned to his club from the national team with momentum. And he picked up for Leverkusen where he left off with the national team. Against VfB Stuttgart, he worked back and excelled going forward with his runs and his ability to read the game. His performance was rewarded with a goal, as he scored a solo effort in the 42nd minute to make it 3-0. What followed was disappointing: Stuttgart showed character and Bayer showed that manager Roger Schmidt still has work to do. Instead of securing all three points, they had to settle for one after conceding three goals and a lot of questions have been asked.
Bellarabi said to bundesliga.de: “Of course we shouldn’t have thrown away the lead. It’s very annoying and we’ll have to analyse what happened. We’ll have to ask ourselves how it happened. But at the moment, we’re very frustrated.” But the schedule allows them to put their frustrations behind them. And Bellarabi can demonstrate his pace off the pitch too. “We don’t have much time before we have to go again,” he said.
A lot at stake in Champions League game
One game can turn things around. After the loss in Monaco and the win against Benfica, Bayer have three points after two games in the group stage of the Champions League and remain one point behind both Zenit and Monaco in third place. Quo vadis Bayer- this question can be answered on Wednesday. Bellarabi knows that a lot is at stake in this game. “Obviously, it’s a very important game. If we want to progress in the tournament then we have to win the game,” he said. He already has a plan for the game and it’s one that he’s very familiar with: set a high tempo by using their pace. Or in his words: “It’s clear: we’ll go full throttle.”
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Karim Bellarabi is accustomed to a high tempo. He’s quick, he acts quickly and he scores quickly. He scored after only nine seconds against Borussia Dortmund to net the quickest goal in Bundesliga history. But for him, it’s not fast enough. His second international game came quickly after the first, which is usually the case, and for Bellarabi things have moved quickly in his move to the top. Ahead of Bayer Leverkusen’s Champions League game against Zenit St. Petersburg on Wednesday (20:45 CEST), he got to know how quickly things can change in another aspect of the game. 45 minutes were enough for VfB Stuttgart to turn things round against Leverkusen on Saturday.
Previously, it seemed as if the Bellarabi festival would continue without stopping. Highlight followed highlight followed highlight. It began with his call-up to the national team for the games against Poland and Ireland. Bellarabi came into the DFB Team having played for the under-20s and under-21s and had to get to know the world of the World Champions. He was very modest: “For me, it’s a reward to get invited into this team of players,” he said on the first evening in the Kennedy Villa.
At the time, it wasn’t clear that Bellarabi would have started his international career so spectacularly, like few before him. The Leverkusen player is the 73rd player to make their debut under Löw and it’s hard to say whether any of the 72 players before him made such an impression on their debuts. He played so well against Poland that Joachim Löw spoke to him a day before the game against Ireland to tell him that he would be starting. Bellarabi was confident in both games, but he didn’t enjoy them because Germany lost against Poland and drew against Ireland- he’s still waiting for his first win with the senior team.
Momentum gained from national team
Nevertheless, he has returned to his club from the national team with momentum. And he picked up for Leverkusen where he left off with the national team. Against VfB Stuttgart, he worked back and excelled going forward with his runs and his ability to read the game. His performance was rewarded with a goal, as he scored a solo effort in the 42nd minute to make it 3-0. What followed was disappointing: Stuttgart showed character and Bayer showed that manager Roger Schmidt still has work to do. Instead of securing all three points, they had to settle for one after conceding three goals and a lot of questions have been asked.
Bellarabi said to bundesliga.de: “Of course we shouldn’t have thrown away the lead. It’s very annoying and we’ll have to analyse what happened. We’ll have to ask ourselves how it happened. But at the moment, we’re very frustrated.” But the schedule allows them to put their frustrations behind them. And Bellarabi can demonstrate his pace off the pitch too. “We don’t have much time before we have to go again,” he said.
A lot at stake in Champions League game
One game can turn things around. After the loss in Monaco and the win against Benfica, Bayer have three points after two games in the group stage of the Champions League and remain one point behind both Zenit and Monaco in third place. Quo vadis Bayer- this question can be answered on Wednesday. Bellarabi knows that a lot is at stake in this game. “Obviously, it’s a very important game. If we want to progress in the tournament then we have to win the game,” he said. He already has a plan for the game and it’s one that he’s very familiar with: set a high tempo by using their pace. Or in his words: “It’s clear: we’ll go full throttle.”
