Super Eagles star Nathan Tella put up a solid showing for Bayer Leverkusen in their dramatic 3-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt on Friday, Soccernet.ng reports.
Tella was on Kasper Hjulmand’s starting lineup in his first game as Bayer Leverkusen boss, after the club parted ways with Dutch tactician Erik Ten Hag two weeks ago.
Our new head coach – Kasper Hjulmand takes charge of the Werkself until 2027! pic.twitter.com/0anwKDo0Wq
— Bayer 04 Leverkusen (@bayer04_en) September 8, 2025
The Super Eagles star was deployed as a winger, a position from which he was able to do a lot of damage.
Die Werkself needed just a little time before break down their opponents, as Alex Grimaldo scored a beautiful freekick from well over 25 yards in the 10th minute.
Tella looked very sharp and lively from the start. And in stoppage time of the first half, he was fouled in box as he tried to wriggle past some challenges.
Patrik Schick took charge of the responsibility and promptly dispatched it into the bottom-left corner to make it 2-0 heading into the break.
In the second half, Eintracht dominated the proceedings. Within seven minutes of the restart, they pulled one back, courtesy of Can Yilmaz Uzun.
Bayer Leverkusen’s problems worsened in the 59th minute, as Robert Andrich was sent off after a second bookable offence.
But despite the chokehold that Frankfurt put them on, the former Bundesliga champions refused to budge.
They wasted a lot of time, that the center referee Deniz Aytekin added seven minutes of stoppages.
In the second minute of that seven, Bayer Leverkusen got another man sent off, as Ezequiel Fernandes received his second yellow card of the night.
That put some wind in Eintracht Frankfurt’s sails. But they just could not capitalize. Before the blast of the whistle, Grimaldo struck again, converting another freekick to ensure that the game ended 3-1.
How Did Nathan Tella Fare For Bayer Leverkusen?
Nathan Tella had a great game for Bayer Leverkusen. He was the second highest-rated player on the pitch, according to Sofascore.
Asides from the penalty which he won, he had two goal attempts. He also completed three dribbles out of five attempts.
The Super Eagles star had 35 touches with an 82% pass accuracy. Tella added some defensive work, with three tackles and one interception. He got 82 minutes of action before getting hauled off for Christian Kofane.
With Tella’s performance against Eintracht Frankfurt, he will likely get a lot of game time under coach Hjulmand if he continues to play like that.