Leverkusen, in their change strip of blue, played broadly the same system as they did last year, a 4-4-2 with attack-minded wingers. Their major new signing is the return of Michael Ballack, and he played a low-key, quiet passing role in the centre of the park – the running was done by his Chilean midfield partner Arturo Vidal, so Leverkusen’s central midfield zone operated similar to the Scholes-Fletcher partnership Sir Alex Ferguson has started the season with.
