It was a strike that has no equal: 20 minutes into the home clash with Leipzig, Kerem Demirbay shot from 25 yards out and put the ball in the back of the RB net via the underside of the bar. According to the stats from xGoals, which calculates the probability of scoring based on eight criteria, the chance of netting this goal was just 2.23 per cent.
And it is logical that the long-range effort from the Werkself number 10 has been nominated for the September Goal of the Month on the ARD-Sportschau. The 27-year-old has the final digit 2. Votes can be cast for the Leverkusen midfielder via phone (0040 (0)1371/36900 – 2) or online at sportschau.de. The closing date for entries is Saturday, 17 October, 19.00 CEST.
The Day of German Unity on 3 October was a special public holiday in 2020 – as it was the 30th anniversary of reunification. Bayer 04 dedicated a thematic week to this turning point in German-German history. Based on this series at bayer04.de it is clear: The fall of the Berlin Wall was a lucky break for the Werkself. Click HERE to access the articles.
Positive numbers for the Bundesliga: The ARD-Sportschau had 4.44 million viewers on Saturday night (market share: 18.7 per cent) the best numbers since the beginning of March. The highlights of the 1-1 draw for the Werkself at VfB Stuttgart was available in the afternoon.
And the Pay TV broadcaster Sky can also look back at good figures at the weekend. The individual and multi-match coverage from Saturday afternoon reached an average TV audience of 1.71 million fans. The Aktuelle Sportstudio, that was broacast on ZDF on Saturday night at eleven o’clock, had 1.86 million viewers (market share: 12.3 per cent).
A great day for ‘Pala’: The Argentinian Bayer 04 player Exequiel Palacios celebrates his 22nd birthday on his day off on Monday. The midfielder signed for Leverkusen from River Plate at the start of January this year. Since then, the Copa Libertadores winner of 2018 has made eight appearances for the Werkself.
And the former Leverkusen player Robbie Kruse is also a year older on this Monday. The 32-year-old, with the Werkself from 2013 to 2015 and from the start of 2016 to the start of 2017, is now playing football back home in Australia – since the summer of last year for Melbourne Victory. Bayer 04 wish both: Happy Birthday!
The Werkself need a win in their penultimate match of the season at RB Leipzig on Monday evening (18:00 CEST) to keep their hopes of third place alive until the final day. After Eintracht Frankfurt lost on Saturday, Roberto Pätzold's side can close the gap on their rivals to two points and leave it all to play for next Sunday.
Show more
Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 1-3 loss at VfB Stuttgart on Matchday 33 of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season...
Show more
Down to fifth from fourth place despite taking an early lead: in the head-to-head for a Champions League spot, Bayer 04 were 1-0 up at VfB Stuttgart with just a minute played thanks to an Aleix Garcia strike, but ultimately lost 3-1 (2-1) to the more determined hosts. It meant the Swabians leapfrogged the Werkself in the Bundesliga table on the penultimate matchday.
Show more
Today sees Bayer 04 go head-to-head with their next direct rivals in the race for Champions League qualification (kick-off 15:30 CEST). Opponents Stuttgart are currently fifth in the table, level on points with the Werkself but one place below them due to a three-goal inferior goal difference. The Black and Reds' record at Bad Cannstatt tells a clearer story: they've not lost at VfB for over 16 years. One important factor in securing what would be three crucial points away from home is Leverkusen's strength on the counter-attack. Whilst Stuttgart are also extremely dangerous going forward, they will be without their captain. Today’s matchday news.
Show more
