After his left-foot shot into Manuel Neuer's net, the 22-year-old Jamaican turned to the corner flag and held up his fingers in the shape of a W. The reason behind the celebration is the song with the same name, W by Bailey's fellow compatriot and rapper Mikayla 'Koffee' Simpson. The lyric is about forgetting L for losing and instead choosing W for winning. "I very much like the song and the message behind it. That's why I celebrated like that," explained Bailey.
It's the record goalscorer's birthday. Ulf Kirsten scored 182 goals in 350 games for the Werkself – and that is the club record to date at Bayer 04. The striker played for Leverkusen for 13 years winning the DFB Cup in 1993 and losing the Champions League final against Real Madrid. Kirsten was the top scorer in the Bundesliga in 1992/93 (20 goals), 1996/97 and 1997/98 (22 goals both times). He hung up his boots in 2003 and then coached the Bayer 04 reserves for six years. The 'Schwatte' still plays for the Veterans team. Congratulations, Ulf!
As part of the first DFB leadership trip to the USA, the representatives from the Bundesliga club visited the Facebook HQ in Silicon Valley and the stadium of the San Francisco 49ers. Simon Rolfes, sporting director at Bayer 04: "I welcome the initiative of the DFB. In order to ensure the best possible future for German football, we definitely need to think outside the box." Tomorrow, the delegation – with plenty of new knowledge – will set off back to Germany.
Last weekend, Julian Baumgartlinger was not only able to celebrate victory against Bayern Munich but also his 200th appearance in Germany's top flight. The Austrian has made 76 appearances for Bayer 04. We say: Congratulations, Baumi!
It was one of the crucial incidents in the Bundesliga stunner for the Werkself at FC Bayern (final score: 2-1). A diagonal ball from Serge Gnabry, just before the half-time whistle, left Ivan Perisic with a tap-in into an empty net – however, the Werkself skipper Lars Bender made a last-ditch sliding tackle and was able to clear the danger. Bayer 04 went into the break with a 2-1 lead and the rest is history. His timely intervention has earned Bender a TOPPS NOW card with the title 'The Goal Saver'.
With the 400th addition of the football broadcast 'Zeigler's wonderful world of football' (WDR), a range of contemporaries congratulated presenter Arnd Zeigler with a video message. And the well-wishers also included the lads from the Werkself Radio – and there were also two surprise guests: Freddy Radeke and Jakob Leube, the presenters of 'Wumms! The Sports Show,' were also on the pitch at the BayArena. The latter congratulated Zeigler with a send up of Christian Streich.
“Diaby! Diaby! Diaby!” was the cry around the BayArena as the Werkself danced in front of the north stand following their 4-0 win over Union Berlin. Captain Edmond Tapsoba gave his new (and old) teammate a friendly shove forward to take in the acclaim from the fans. The returning Frenchman was typically reserved in thanking the supporters but was clearly emotional about what was happening.
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The Bundesliga is back at the BayArena this Saturday as Bayer 04 play their first home game of the 2026/27 campaign against Union Berlin (15:30 CEST). Moussa Diaby could make his second debut for the Werkself following his return to Leverkusen – and it would be an ideal fixture for the Frenchman. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the encounter in our matchday news.
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Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 2-1 at TSG Hoffenheim on the 3rd matchday of the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga 2026/27.
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The Bundesliga returns to the BayArena for 2026/27 as Bayer 04 host Union Berlin on Saturday (15:30 CEST) looking for their first points of the season after last week’s opening loss at Elversberg. Head coach Carles Martínez spoke ahead of the game about what he’s learned, the team’s newest signings and who could return to the squad.
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