True to form, it was Leverkusen who started on the offensive against Kiel, creating a host of chances inside the first five minutes. The best of them fell the way of Patrik Schick, but his header from Alejandro Grimaldo’s corner was headed off the line by Shūto Machino.
That was only a temporary reprieve for Kiel, who soon found themselves behind when Schick found his range, reacting quickest in the area to turn home Amine Adli’s delivery.
Kiel did remind their visitors that they wouldn’t have it all their own way when Magnus Knudsen broke clear from deep, but saw his effort smothered by Matej Kovar.
Set-pieces were proving to be the hosts’ main undoing, and they were perhaps fortunate not to concede from another midway through the first half when Adli was left unmarked but could only head straight at Timon Weiner.
Adli eventually got his goal after he was slipped through by Florian Wirtz and he lifted the ball over the onrushing Weiner to send Leverkusen into the break with a two-goal lead that their play thoroughly merited.
Kiel rallied at the start of the second half, stringing together a series of attacks without threatening the Leverkusen goal. It was the visitors who had the first real sighting of goal after the break in fact, forcing Weiner into a full-stretch save to deny Edmond Tapsoba before he was called into action again on the hour mark to thwart Wirtz from close range.
Leverkusen’s star man was desperate to get his name on the scoresheet, but he kept coming up short in that quest, firing another effort inches wide 15 minutes from time as his frustrations started to show.
Wirtz must’ve been wondering what he needed to do to score past Weiner, and the pair had one more duel in which the Kiel stopper came out on top before the full-time whistle when the Leverkusen man fired a tired effort straight into the keeper’s midriff after being teed up by Emiliano Buendia.
That miss was immaterial in respect of the result as Xabi Alonso’s men were untroubled in seeing out a first away league win since early January.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen)
