Austria made a successful start to their Nations League campaign. The team, coached by former Werkself captain Franco Foda since November 2017, started the game in the Norwegian capital without Baumgartlinger and Dragovic. The two Bayer 04 players started on the bench. Ahead of the game, Foda explained that some of his players had not had enough training sessions due to the European finals tournaments and that he would therefore be careful in introducing them to competitive action.
Dragovic was able to take off his training kit near the end of the first half. The Frankfurt player Martin Hinteregger picked up an injury and the Leverkusen player came off the bench on 41 minutes. At that point it was 1-0 for the visitors – Augsburg's Michael Gregoritsch scored. After half-time, Leipzig's Marcel Sabitzer (54') and Dortmund's Erling Haaland (66') scored the other two goals. The usual captain Baumgartlinger came on as a substitute on 88 minutes.
Foda did confirm that the Leverkusen player would remain as the skipper. "If my captain is 100 per cent fit then he'll play," said the coach who did not reveal whether Baumgartlinger would start on Monday night. Austria entertain Romania in Klagenfurt.
Diaby did play from the start. His France U21 team faced Georgia in a Euro qualifier and they ran out 2-0 winners. Diaby hit the woodwork on eight minutes and was substituted on 72 minutes. For the Leverkusen player and his teammates, their next game is a Euro qualifier in Azerbaijan on Monday, 7 September with the kick-off at 19.00 CET.
Jonathan Tah (Germany):
Sunday, 6 September (20.45 CET/live on ZDF): Switzerland v Germany (UEFA Nations League)
Aleksandar Dragovic and Julian Baumgartlinger (Austria):
Monday, 7 September (20.45 CET/live on DAZN): Austria v Romania (UEFA Nations League)
Joel Pohjanpalo and Lukas Hradecky (Finland):
Sunday, 6 September (18.00 CET/live on DAZN): Ireland v Finland (UEFA Nations League)
Tin Jedvaj (Croatia):
Saturday, 5 September (20.45 CET/live on DAZN): Portugal v Croatia (UEFA Nations League)
Tuesday, 8 September (20.45 CET/live on DAZN): France v Croatia (UEFA Nations League)
Lennart Grill (Germany U21):
Tuesday, 8 September (16.00 CET/live on ProSieben MAXX): Belgium U21 v Germany U21 (U21 Euro qualifier)
Moussa Diaby (France U21):
Monday, 7 September (19.00 CET): Azerbaijan U21 v France U21 (U21 Euro qualifier)
Bayer 04 have ended Artem Stepanov’s loan deal at Nürnberg and agreed a new loan to Utrecht in the Netherlands. The Ukrainian striker did not play as much as hoped for at the Bundesliga 2 club and will now continue his development in the Eredivisie for the rest of 2025/26.
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Following on from the emotional last-minute win at Union Berlin, the Bayer 04 Women now face a promoted team: On Saturday, 31 January (12:00 CET), coach Roberto Pätzold's team welcome FC Nürnberg to the Ulrich Haberland Stadium for their first home game of the new year. In their second season in the Bundesliga, the Franconians have impressed with 16 points from the first 15 games.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended the contract with Germany U19 international Montrell Culbreath. The attacking midfielder and right winger has penned a deal with the Bundesliga club that runs to 30 June 2030. Culbreath has played for the Werkself as a youth player since 2023. Last December, he scored his first Bundesliga goal for the Leverkusen first team in the Bayer 04 3-1 away win at RB Leipzig.
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The Werkself's 3-0 victory over Villarreal in the UEFA Champions League certainly left many happy faces: Malik Tillman was delighted with his brace, Robert Andrich with the clean sheet and coach Kasper Hjulmand with the "manner" of this significant home win. With an overwhelming superiority and over 75 per cent possession at times, Bayer 04 deserved their place in the UCL play-off round. They will face a familiar foe in February. The Werkself review.
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