The Werkself sealed qualification for the Champions League with a game to play thanks to an outstanding second half in the away game at TSG Hoffenheim. The man of the match for the third placed team from Leverkusen was once again striker Patrik Schick who scored a brace and also provided an assist for Moussa Diaby.
kicker justifiably named the Czech striker as the Man of the Match. The reasoning in the football journal: "There were three world-class actions. Three pieces of magic and three moves that demonstrate the capabilities of the centre-forward. The Czech Republic international, who scored goals 23 and 24 on his 26th appearance, impressively demonstrated his class and importance to Bayer 04."
Schick, who is in the kicker Team of the Day for the fourth time, is joined by his teammates Diaby (for a sixth time), Edmond Tapsoba (two) and Charles Aránguiz (one). Schick is also included in the team of matchday 33 on Sportschau.de.
Bild-Zeitung included both Diaby and Schick in their Team of the Day. And Werkself head coach Gerardo Seoane was named Coach of the Matchday for his decisions in the game. The trio all received top marks.
Lukas Hradecky, Patrik Schick and Co. looked particularly good in the red T-shirts in Sinsheim and the celebration of the 13th campaign in Europe's premier club competition went down well the fans. Minutes after the start of sales, the first run of the "Back again – Bayer in the Champions League" T-shirts were sold out. And the second run is going fast. Anyone wanting a shirt should grab the chance now. The last of 1,800 T-shirts are changing hands. Click here for the T-Shirt.
The impressive performances and results for the Werkself in 2022 are clearly reflected in the Bundesliga second half of the season table: Bayer 04, like the former and new champions Bayern Munich, have picked up an impressive 33 points from 16 games since the start of the year. Only RB Leipzig (35) have picked up more points. In addition, FC Bayern and the Werkself both have the same goal difference of +20.
The Black and Reds and 28 points in the first half of the season – putting them fourth. Bayer 04 have one game left play this season: the home game against SC Freiburg on Saturday 14 May at 15.30 CEST at the BayArena.
Bayer 04 congratulates Jupp Heynckes on his 77th birthday. The Gladbach-born player and coach was in charge of Bayer 04 from 1 July 2009 and he went 29 games without defeat across two seasons – back then a record in the Bundesliga. The Black and Reds finished runners-up in 2010/11 and reached the Round of 16 in the Europa League with Heynckes in charge.
Thanks to the second-place finish the year before, Heynckes was the first coach in seven years to take the Werkself back into the Champions League. Up to his departure at the end of the 2010/11 season, his time in the dugout over 38 games included 20 wins, 8 draws and 10 defeats. Heynckes together with his assistant coach and club legend Peter Hermann then moved on to Bayern Munich.
There were also plenty of congratulations amongst the Bayer 04 Women's squad at training today as two players celebrated their birthdays. Caroline Siems is 23, Julia Pollak 20. Full-back Siems joined Leverkusen at the start of the season from English club Aston Villa and has played 17 times for the Black and Reds. The youth international Pollak also joined the club in the summer of last year. The defender on loan from Bayern Munich has made nine appearances for the Bayer 04 Women's team. Many happy returns.
From the 2027/28 season, the Women’s Bundesliga will be organised by an independent league association. Following the unanimous decision taken at the DFB Bundestag (national conference) on Friday afternoon, the league’s separation from the DFB is now official.
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Following the Bundesliga clash against RB Leipzig (Sunday, 20 September, 15:30 CEST), some of the Werkself first team players will be heading off for the first international break of the season. Here is an overview of the Bayer 04 players called up for their national teams and all the details of their upcoming matches.
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A special visit to the BayArena: 222 members from volunteer fire brigades in Leverkusen, the Rheinisch-Bergisch district and the Oberbergisch district watched the Werkself’s 2–0 home win over Slovenian champions NK Celje live in the stadium. Bayer 04 had invited them to the 2026/27 Europa League opener as a thank-you for their tremendous dedication. They watched the match together in Block F4.
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The Werkself were feeling quite satisfied following their 2–0 home win in their opening match of the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League, particularly with the result. At the same time, players and coaches agreed that, in terms of their performance, there was “still room for improvement”, as Robert Andrich put it. For his part, Moussa Diaby emphasised the importance of the victory with which the team had kicked off the campaign, and spoke personally about how good it felt to have started in front of the “wonderful” Bayer 04 fans this Tuesday evening for the first time since his return. The Werkself review of the Europa League opener.
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