Against the odds: Bayer winger Tella explains why no one expected him to score with a header

Bayer Leverkusen's unbeaten run continued on Sunday as they defeated VfL Wolfsburg 2-0 at the BayArena courtesy of goals from Nathan Tella and Florian Wirtz.

Wolfsburg were faced with a mountain to climb in the 28th minute when Nigerian central defender Moritz Jenz was sent off for a second bookable offense.

Less than ten minutes after the dismissal of the Celtic old boy, Bayer Leverkusen capitalized on their numerical advantage, breaking the deadlock through Tella, 

Though Tella got the final touch, the goal was all about Alejandro Grimaldo whose sublime cross was headed in by the Super Eagles winger. 

Despite Tella's slight frame, standing at 1.73m, the diminutive Hale End Academy product has scored with five headers since the start of the 2022-2023 season. 

Speaking post-match, the former Burnley star offered an explanation why his goal came as a surprise to many. 

Tella said: "Because of my height no one expects me to get on the back post and score headers.

"It's a way to get more goals and it's something I want to practice and when I have teammates like Alejandro Grimaldo who can cross to me like this, it will be impossible for me to miss."

Up next for Tella and his teammates, they face Qarabag in the return leg of their Europa League round of 16 tie on Thursday, March 14.

Looking ahead to the game, the Nigeria international said: "We only look at the next game. We only have one more Europa League game before the break and this is what we focus on.

"We only look at the next game which is possible to play. Our next game is Qarabag so we train and look at what we didn't do good against them in Azerbaijan, and then we try to rectify and make it a good performance and potentially progress through to the next round."

With his strike against Wolfsburg, Tella has now mustered ten goal involvements (7 goals, 3 assists) in 28 all-competition appearances for Bayer Leverkusen. 

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

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