Bayer Leverkusen’s 2–0 defeat to Augsburg on Saturday featured two telling moments both involving Nathan Tella at the heart of the action, Nigeriasoccernet.com reports.
The first incident came when Augsburg midfielder Kristijan Jakic appeared to raise his arm into the face of Malik Tillman during a heated exchange. Moments later, Leverkusen had a golden chance to pull a goal back in the 75th minute, but substitute striker Tella squandered it.
Caught off balance, he miscontrolled the ball from just two meters out and ended up knocking it against the post.
“It was typical of our day — Nathan practically cleared the ball off the line for them,” captain Robert Andrich remarked afterward.
Just two minutes later, Andrich again found himself involved, this time stepping in to prevent Tella from committing a foul as tensions escalated.
A scuffle broke out and Jakic shoved Tella, pushing the situation to boiling point. Tella reacted angrily and momentarily lost control, prompting both players to be shown yellow cards.
Recognizing the danger of further escalation, Andrich quickly intervened. He pulled Tella away from the confrontation and delivered firm, vocal instructions to calm his teammate down before play resumed.
"I also did that as captain and pulled teammates away from the fray to save them from doing something stupid," Simon Rolfes Leverkusen's sporting director stated in defense of Andrich stepping in to salvage the situation.
By Oluwadamilola Olaleye