Jonas Hofmann had barely played an hour against OFI Crete when Carles Martínez took him off. By then, his work was done.
He had scored twice, put Bayer Leverkusen in control and given his manager every reason to be pleased with the decision to start him. The Germans went on to win 2–0, securing their third consecutive Europa League victory.
There was something unusual about Hofmann being on the pitch at all.
Just two days earlier, Leverkusen had announced his addition to their European squad. The 34-year-old hadn’t been included in the original List A registration, which meant Martínez couldn’t previously select him for Europa League matches.
Then Martin Terrier suffered an injury, UEFA’s replacement rules came into play, and Hofmann suddenly had another opportunity.
It would have been an interesting story if he had simply made the bench.
Instead, he scored both goals.
How an injury changed the team sheet
The events leading to Hofmann’s return began on 15 October, when Leverkusen beat Lech Poznań 4–0.
Martin Terrier injured his left hamstring during that match. The following day, the club confirmed he was expected to remain unavailable until late December.
That was a substantial loss for Martínez, particularly with the team managing a busy European schedule. Terrier offered options across the attack, and Leverkusen now needed to find another way to cover his absence.
There was an obvious complication.
The deadline for registering the original Europa League List A had passed on 2 September. Hofmann wasn’t on that list, and a manager can’t simply add an experienced player because another attacker has been injured.
UEFA’s regulations do make an exception for certain long-term absences.
Under Article 31.14(c), clubs can temporarily replace one outfield player during the league phase, up to and including Matchday 6, when the injury or illness meets the required minimum 60-day absence. The incoming player must also satisfy the original registration requirements. Medical documentation and locally trained player restrictions still apply.
This isn’t a way of gaining an extra permanent squad place. When the injured player is ready to return under the prescribed procedure, the replacement arrangement has to be reversed.
Terrier’s expected recovery period brought Leverkusen within the conditions for applying.
On 20 October, the club announced that Hofmann had replaced him in the Europa League squad. UEFA’s published update recorded the change on 22 October.
Hofmann was eligible again.
But eligibility only solved the first problem. Martínez still had to decide whether he wanted to use him.
Martínez didn’t bring Hofmann back just to sit him on the bench
The day before the OFI match, Martínez had explained what he valued about Hofmann.
Terrier’s injury had taken a versatile attacking player out of the squad. Hofmann offered experience and the ability to operate in several attacking positions. With fixtures arriving close together, those qualities gave the manager another way to arrange his team.
That didn’t mean Hofmann would take over Terrier’s precise responsibilities. It meant Martínez had regained a player he believed could help in different circumstances.
Against OFI, he chose to use that option immediately.
Leverkusen made five changes from the team that had beaten Freiburg in the Bundesliga. Hofmann started alongside attacking players including Patrik Schick, Malik Tillman and Afonso Moreira.
The visitors had plenty of possession and began creating chances, although the opening stages weren’t entirely comfortable.
OFI defended compactly and threatened through Thiago Nuss, whose 11th-minute attempt forced Janis Blaswich into an important save.
Hofmann also had to wait for his breakthrough. He was involved in early attacking opportunities, but Leverkusen couldn’t find a finish despite repeatedly getting into promising positions.
Then, in the 35th minute, Moreira tested goalkeeper Klidman Lilo.
Lilo made the save but couldn’t hold the ball. Hofmann was there for the rebound, reacting quickly and finishing from close range.
It was a striker’s sort of goal, even though Hofmann hadn’t been selected simply to stand in the penalty area.
A few minutes later, he showed a different side of his finishing.
Tillman moved the ball to Hofmann outside the box. This time there was no rebound to chase. Hofmann took the chance himself, sending a low shot into the corner.
Two goals in roughly three minutes.
OFI had spent much of the half trying to keep Leverkusen out. Suddenly the visitors had the breathing room they needed.
Hofmann nearly completed a hat-trick early in the second half, but Lilo saved his curling effort. In the 63rd minute, Martínez replaced him with Ibrahim Maza.
His first Europa League appearance after being restored to the squad had produced both goals in a 2–0 win.
A good selection, but not a victory created by paperwork
It’s easy to look at that sequence and give UEFA’s replacement provision an enormous amount of credit.
Without the approved registration change, Hofmann couldn’t have played in this European fixture. That much is straightforward.
But Leverkusen’s performance involved far more than one player.
They finished with 33 shots, including 15 on target. OFI managed six attempts, two of them on target. Schick, Tillman, Moreira and others had helped create a sustained attacking advantage.
Hofmann’s first goal came from Moreira’s saved shot. His second followed Tillman’s involvement outside the area.
He finished the opportunities, but the team had helped create them.
It is entirely possible that another Leverkusen attacker could have scored on a night when the visitors generated so many chances. The match cannot tell us what would have happened if Hofmann remained ineligible.
What it does tell us is that Martínez selected him and Hofmann delivered the goals that mattered.
That distinction becomes particularly interesting when set alongside another MATCHIQ story from this week.
The UEFA rule had already given two managers a choice
On 22 October, MATCHIQ examined the Champions League’s comparable long-term injury replacement provision through Aston Villa and Como.
Villa registered Taylor Harwood-Bellis after Matteo Ruggeri’s injury. Unai Emery included the defender among his substitutes against Viking, but he didn’t bring him on.
Como registered Maxence Caqueret in place of Jesús Rodríguez Caraballo. Cesc Fàbregas then introduced Caqueret against Manchester United, although Como were already three goals ahead by the time he entered.
Both clubs had made use of UEFA’s registration rules. Their managers used the newly available players differently.
Hofmann’s case takes that story further.
He didn’t just become eligible or receive minutes once the result was comfortable. Martínez started him with the score at 0–0, and Hofmann went on to score both goals.
There are three separate decisions here, each belonging to someone different.
UEFA’s rules allowed Leverkusen to change the squad. Martínez decided Hofmann belonged in his starting eleven. Hofmann then justified that selection with two excellent finishes.
None of those steps automatically guarantees the next.
Hofmann has given his manager another decision to make
Leverkusen host Marseille on 5 November, with Terrier still expected to be recovering from his injury.
For Hofmann, that match could provide a more revealing piece of evidence about his place in Martínez’s plans.
Does he start again? Is he used in the same attacking position, or does the manager ask him to perform a different job? When Leverkusen are under pressure rather than creating chances freely, does Martínez still turn to his experience?
A second meaningful selection would strengthen the case that Hofmann is becoming more than a temporary solution.
Terrier’s eventual return will bring another complication because the UEFA replacement is not permanent. Leverkusen will have to manage the European squad under the rules once the injured player is eligible to come back.
Hofmann hasn’t solved that future decision by scoring twice against OFI.
He has made it more interesting.
The registration rule gave Hofmann a route back into Europe. Martínez gave him the responsibility of starting. The two goals were Hofmann’s own contribution.
Now he has given his manager a reason to consider picking him again, even when the competition for attacking places becomes tougher.
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