Three days after the 4-0 win against Twente Enschede, Bayer 04 sealed another victory in a friendly against the team third from bottom in the Dutch first division (Eredivisie). "3-1 is a good result," was the assessment of Bosz. "Today we tried to do a couple of things better that we didn't do so well in the game against Twente. In the first friendly for example, the build-up from the back took too long for my liking and we did it better today. But there are also other things we have to do better in future," added the 55-year-old Dutchman.
Bosz separated his squad into two teams for the first of two friendlies of the day: A side for the match against Zwolle and another for the friendly against Preußen Münster, which followed directly after the first game behind closed doors. "We don't have much time and it's important for me to get to know all the players. And it's good for the players to get 90 minutes on the pitch," said the new Werkself head coach in explaining the approach.
In front of a crowd of 470 at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium, the Werkself got off to the poorer start against the visitors from Holland – in the opening ten minutes, goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky kept his team from going behind three times. The Black and Reds then came into the game and created a number of goalscoring opportunities. After shots from Julian Brandt, Leon Bailey, Kai Havertz, Charles Aránguiz and Lars Bender failed to find the back of the net it was Kevin Volland who opened the scoring on the half-hour mark. Brandt provided the assist with some impressive dribbling and the final pass. Just three minutes after the opener, Bailey, who was playing on the right flank, doubled the lead – this time Volland provided the assist in the penalty area. Havertz was then twice frustrated by saves from the alert PEC keeper Mickey van der Hart. Bayer 04 went into the break with a 2-0 lead.
In the second half, the Werkself carried on where they had left off in the first 45 minutes, playing on the front foot and pressing the visitors back. Of the best chances created for the Werkself, only Bailey was able to reap the benefit when on 75 minutes – put through by Brandt – he coolly slotted the ball past the Zwolle keeper van der Hart to double his tally. Seconds before the final whistle, Zwolle prevented a second win for Bayer 04 without conceding when Stanley Elbers converted a rebound from close range to make it 3-1.
Bayer 04: Hradecky – L. Bender (Stanilewicz 69'), Tah, S. Bender, Wendell – Aránguiz – Bailey, Havertz, Brandt – Volland, Bellarabi
A cracker of a semi-final at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. The Bayer 04 U19 team entertain Bayern Munich on Saturday, 10 May (kick-off: 11:00 CEST/stadium opens: 10:00 CEST). In front of a home crowd, the team led by head coach Sergi Runge, who welcomes back an attacking player, is looking to build on the battling performances from the previous knockout games and "perform at the right moment." Tickets are available from the Bayer 04 online shop and the game will also be broadcast live on Sky.
Show moreGermany U17 head coach Marc Meister has called up three Bayer 04 youth players for the forthcoming UEFA U17 European Championship. The tournament involving eight teams runs from 19 May to 1 June in Albania.
Show more"We have mixed feelings overall today," said head coach Xabi Alonso after the 2-2 draw away to SC Freiburg. Bayer 04 were deservedly 2-0 down against the Champions League contenders up to the closing minutes but fought back with a double whammy from Florian Wirtz and Jonathan Tah to earn a point in the end. That maintains the run of unbeaten away games in the Bundesliga – the all-time record has been achieved! The Werkself review.
Show moreBayer 04 have now gone 33 Bundesliga away games in succession without defeat and thereby equalled the record set by Bayern Munich: Jonathan Tah netted the equaliser at 2-2 in added time away to SC Freiburg on his 400th appearance for the Werkself. SCF took a 2-0 lead with a strike from Maximilian Eggestein (44') and a Piero Hincapie own goal (48') before Florian Wirtz pulled a goal back on 82 minutes.
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