Bayer Leverkusen Dominates Genk in Pre-Season Opener

Bayer Leverkusen’s pre-season is starting to sound like a warning.

On Wednesday, in the compact surroundings of the Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion, Genk became the latest side brushed aside by Carles Martínez’s team, a 4-0 win extending Leverkusen’s flawless summer and underlining the depth of their attacking options.

Belocian sets the tone

This was Leverkusen’s first friendly of the summer on home soil, and they treated it as if it were a statement night rather than a gentle tune-up. From the back, Edmond Tapsoba split Genk open with a sharp, vertical pass that sliced through the Belgian side’s shape. Jeanuel Belocian read it, ran onto it, and finished to make it 1-0. Simple, direct, ruthless.

Loïc Badé thought he had joined his fellow French defender on the scoresheet shortly after, only for his effort to be ruled out for offside. The defender’s celebrations were cut short, but the pattern of the match was already clear: Leverkusen were quicker, sharper, and playing with the swagger of a team that knows exactly what it wants to be when the real season starts.

Tella strikes, press bites

Genk struggled to breathe under Leverkusen’s press. When the ball turned over high up the pitch, the punishment arrived fast.

Carles Martínez’s side won possession in the final third, Jonas Hofmann picked his head up, and Nathan Tella did the rest. His finish doubled the lead before half-time and rewarded the aggression out of possession that has been a recurring theme of this pre-season.

Two goals up, at home, and in control, Leverkusen were playing with a freedom that made the second half feel inevitable.

Moreira steals the spotlight

The hour mark brought the usual summer ritual: Martínez changed the entire lineup, but the intensity did not drop. If anything, it gave one man an even brighter stage.

Afonso Moreira, the summer signing who cannot stop scoring, struck again. A composed, clinical finish brought his fourth goal of pre-season and extended his remarkable run of finding the net in every game so far. It was the sort of finish that suggests this is more than just a hot streak; it looks like a habit.

The pressure did not ease on Genk. Minutes later, Moreira turned creator, threading a well-timed, well-worked ball into the path of Christian Kofane, who added the fourth. One precise assist, one more reminder that the Portuguese attacker offers more than just goals.

A left wing up for grabs

Behind the comfortable scoreline lies a sharper subplot. With Kerim Alajbegovic and Martin Terrier both edging towards the exit door, the left flank is opening up. Moreira is not just filling minutes; he is making a claim.

Four games, four goals, and now an assist to cap a dominant display against solid opposition. In a squad already stacked with attacking quality, the 19-year-old is forcing his way into the conversation as a potential starter on the left when the competitive action begins.

Pre-season can flatter. It can mislead. But sometimes it reveals something unmistakable: a player arriving at the right club at the right time, grabbing his chance with both hands.

Right now, Afonso Moreira looks exactly that.