Half-time: Köln 0-1 Leverkusen — Aleix García's free-kick separates the sides

Bayer Leverkusen lead 1. FC Köln 1-0 at half-time at the RheinEnergieSTADION. Aleix García scored the only goal of the half in the seventh minute, a direct free-kick worth 0.08 xG that beat the Köln wall and goalkeeper.

It is a narrow lead for a side that has seen 65 percent of the ball. Leverkusen have completed 291 passes to Köln's 153, and 179 of those have come in Köln's half. But the shot count is 8-7 in Köln's favour, and the home side have created the better open-play chances.

The xG map tells the story of the half. Leverkusen's 1.12 xG is built almost entirely on set pieces: 0.97 from dead balls, just 0.14 from open play. Köln's 0.68 xG is the reverse — 0.58 from open play, 0.10 from set pieces. The away side have had five shots on target to Köln's three, and four corners to Köln's one, but René Wagner's side have carved out two big chances to Leverkusen's one.

Köln set up in a 3-5-2: three centre-backs, five across midfield, two forwards. That shape has given Carles Martínez's 4-2-3-1 problems in tight areas. Six Leverkusen players have been squeezed for space. Aleix García has been dispossessed once despite 68 touches and a 91.2 percent pass accuracy, and his rating of 8.08 reflects the goal. Equi Fernández has 49 touches at 92.1 percent but a rating of 6.56. Jarell Quansah has 48 touches at 97.1 percent, Facundo Medina 54 at 94 percent, Afonso Moreira 24 at 93.8 percent, and Edmond Tapsoba 31 at 96.2 percent. The passing numbers are clean; the space has not been.

Leverkusen's lead is built on a dead ball, not on sustained control of the box. They have 16 touches in Köln's penalty area to Köln's 13, and the big-chance count runs 2-1 the other way. Köln have had eight shots and three on target; they need to turn open-play territory into a clearer sight of goal. Leverkusen need to find a way through the 3-5-2 without relying on another set piece. The foul count is 8-4 against Köln, and both sides have a yellow card. The next goal decides the shape of the closing half-hour.