Kasper Hjulmand is enjoying a reunion with Christian Eriksen as Bayer Leverkusen prepare to face Wolfsburg.
Eriksen signed for Wolfsburg this summer after leaving Manchester United.
The playmaker was a key figure in Hjulmand’s Danish team, although there is one moment that sticks in the memory of the Leverkusen coach.
Hjulmand was in charge of Denmark when Eriksen collapsed after suffering cardiac arrest at the 2020 European Championships in Copenhagen.
Eriksen subsequently made a full recovery and enjoyed spells at Brentford and United, making seven Bundesliga appearances since joining Wolfsburg, albeit playing just 402 minutes in total.
“When there are quieter moments, I sometimes think of him. The situation at that time changed my life a bit,” Hjulmand said about Eriksen and the Euro 2020 incident.
“After that time he returned in an international match against the Netherlands and scored after just a few minutes. It was great to see him on the field again.”
“He’s a great player and an even better person. I’m looking forward to seeing him again. But I also say: we still have one day left for a match.”
“I am now 100% focused and want to win this match. After the final whistle, if there is time, I can have a chat with him and the others.”
Coach’s thoughts on tomorrow’s away game! pic.twitter.com/u8zHf0zZnN
— Bayer 04 Leverkusen (@bayer04_en) November 21, 2025
Asked whether he considered signing Eriksen as a free agent when he joined Leverkusen in September, Hjulmand said: “When I came, our squad had a lot of players in that position, so it wasn’t the right time and the right place.
“We have a lot of quality there, so that wasn’t really a problem. Christian is a fantastic player and an even better person.”
“When he starts playing football and you see him training and playing, you see a very special player. He understands what he sees around him and he sees more on the field than most players. He is a great player.”
Leverkusen is fifth in the Bundesliga with twenty points, eight behind leaders Bayern Munich, to whom they lost 3-0 at the beginning of November. However, Hjulmand’s team came back with a 6-0 win over Heidenheim last time.
Wolfsburg, meanwhile, are 14th with eight points from 10 games, while Daniel Bauer is now in interim charge following the dismissal of Paul Simonis, who had the worst points per game of all Wolfsburg bosses and had played at least five games in the Bundesliga (0.8).
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Wolfsburg – Maximilian Arnold
Since making his Bundesliga debut for Leverkusen in the summer of 2023, no player in the competition has scored more direct free-kicks than Leverkusen’s Alejandro Grimaldo (five), but Wolfsburg midfielder Arnold is joint second alongside Mainz’s Nadiem Amiri (both three).
Since detailed data collection began in 2004-05, only Diego (13) has scored more direct free kicks in the Bundesliga than Arnold (11, tied with Hakan Calhanoglu).
Bayer Leverkusen – Ernest Poku
Poku was directly involved in five goals (three goals, two assists) in his first five Bundesliga starts for Leverkusen.
Since detailed data was collected in 2004–05, only Patrick Helmes (seven) and Victor Boniface (eight) have achieved better records in their first five Bundesliga starts for the club.
MATCH PREDICTION: BAYER LEVERKUSEN WIN
Wolfsburg have lost six of their last seven Bundesliga (W1) games and their eight points after ten games is also a record low for the club, matching their start to the 2012–13 season.
Furthermore, Wolfsburg remain without a win in their last seven Bundesliga matches against Leverkusen (D3, L4), with their last away win coming in October 2021 (2-0).
They are winless in their last nine Bundesliga home games against Leverkusen (D3 L6), a run that stretches over ten years since their last victory at the Volkswagen Arena in October 2015 (2-1).
Wolfsburg have not won any of their last thirteen home games in the Bundesliga (D7 L6), the longest streak in the competition.
Leverkusen have taken 19 points from their first eight Bundesliga matches under Hjulmand (W6 D1 L1) – only Bayern (22) have collected more in that time. In the club’s Bundesliga history, only Jupp Heynckes collected more points from his first eight games in charge than the Dane in 2009 (20 points).
Patrik Schick is Leverkusen’s top scorer in the league this season (five goals). He scored his 69th Bundesliga goal for the club last time out and moved level with Dimitar Berbatov as their all-time foreign top scorer in the competition, having scored against 24 of the 25 different opponents he faced.
In fact, he just failed to score against Wolfsburg.
OPTA CHANCE OF WINNING
Wolfsburg – 29.1%
Draw – 24.9%
Bayer Leverkusen – 46%
#Eriksen #incident #changed #life #Leverkusen #boss #Hjulmand #Soccer #News