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.
Bayer 04 make their first trip to Poland for over 30 years as they face Lech Poznan on Matchday 2 of the league phase in the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League. The game kicks off at 18:45 CEST on Thursday, but the team will be preparing for the action on Wednesday with training, travel and pre-match press conferences. We’ll bring you all the latest news here…
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Bayer 04 remain unbeaten in the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League. After winning the opener against NK Celje, the Werkself followed that up on Thursday night with a 4–0 win away at the Polish champions Lech Poznan. Patrik Schick, who came on as a substitute early in the game, scored twice from the penalty spot, and Malik Tillman also found the back of the net before half-time. The second half was a more subdued affair, with Ibrahim Maza scoring late on to seal the final 4-0 scoreline.
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Since 2023, Bayer 04 has been organising regular free goalkeeping coach training sessions at the BayArena. As in previous years, the event attracted enormous interest in mid-October 2026. Around 140 participants – mostly goalkeeping coaches from the region, but also team and academy coaches as well as association staff – came to the Werkself stadium to gain expert knowledge on the subject of zonal marking. Through a theoretical keynote presentation and a practical session on the pitch, the participants gained insights into goalkeeping and goalkeeper training at Bayer 04.
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A first for the Werkself: Today, Thursday 15 October (kick-off: 18:45 CEST), Bayer 04 face Lech Poznan for the first time on matchday 2 in the UEFA Europa League group. Although the Black and Reds have a flawless record against the only Polish opposition faced before, they must not underestimate the attacking ability and goal-scoring threat of the reigning champions from Poznan. Lech’s squad also includes two former Bundesliga players. Today's matchday news.
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