During the summer break, Leon Bailey attended a birthday party for Ussain Bolt in his home country. The star sprinter tested positive for coronavirus shortly after that and the Werkself player then had to spend two weeks in self-isolation as a contact. But Bailey is now finally back on the pitch at the BayArena – and he clearly appears to be happy about that:
The Werkself – logically without Bailey in the squad – started the Bundesliga season with a 0:0 draw at VfL Wolfsburg. While the Wolves had the upper hand in terms of shots on goal (nine) compared with the Black and Reds (seven), the Werkself had more completed passes (82%) and also more possession (59%). However, neither side were able to score on Sunday night – for the first time in the 47th competitive meeting between VfL and Bayer 04.
Due to the first international break of the season, the Bayer 04 Women did not have a game at the weekend. In contrast, there was action at Kurtekotten: The U19s suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat against Borussia Mönchengladbach. The Leverkusen U17s picked up a point away to Fortuna Köln in a 2-2. The other youth results from the weekend are available HERE.
In the morning instead of the evening: Pay-TV channel Sky will now broadcast its football show Sky90 at 11.30 CET in the new Bundesliga season. In addition to the slot, the format will in future also be broadcast on free TV on Sky Sport News. The Werkself could be under discussion next Sunday, 27 September. Head coach Peter Bosz and his players are at home to RB Leipzig at the BayArena the day before at 15.30 CET.
It was the biggest triumph in his career as a professional footballer: In his first season at Bayer 04, Andrzej Buncol celebrated winning the UEFA Cup with the Werkself in 1988. The Pole spent five years at Leverkusen playing in over 120 games. After hanging up his boots in 1997 he went into coaching. Buncol has been youth coach at Bayer 04 for over a decade and the players he helped to develop at Kurtekotten include Kai Havertz. He is 61 today. Bayer 04 wish him a very happy birthday.
Werkself player Ibrahim Maza has been named in the top ten in the ‘Men’s Young Talent of the Year’ category for 2026. The 20-year-old was at the London Palladium on Monday evening for the 2026 Ballon d’Or awards ceremony. Fernando Carro, Bayer 04 CEO, also attended the ceremony. Lamine Yamal of Barcelona was named the winner in the ‘Men’s Young Talent of the Year’ category.
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Bayer 04 will have to manage without forward Moussa Diaby for their upcoming matches. The 27-year-old Frenchman sustained a thigh injury in the 3-0 defeat against TSG Hoffenheim yesterday afternoon, Sunday 25 October. Diaby is expected to be available again after the international break in November.
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The Bayer 04 U19s are set to host Marseille in a top-level friendly. The match against the French side is at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium on Thursday, 5 November, at 14:00 CET. Admission is free for fans. A few hours later, the two clubs face each other in the Europa League at the BayArena.
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It has been a long time since feeling what it’s like to come away empty-handed. The last – and so far only – defeat of the season, in Elversberg, was two months ago. Since then, Bayer 04 have followed that up with seven wins and a draw. Now it has happened again away to TSG Hoffenheim. As the match progressed, the Werkself grew in confidence and “could even have scored the opening goal”, as Robert Andrich said after the game. In the end, it was the side from Sinsheim who sealed a 3–0 victory after “hectic closing stages” (kicker). The Werkself review.
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Werkself-TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04 Women's 0-2 loss at 1. FC Nürnberg on Matchday 8 of the 2026/27 Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga.
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