The blonde forward was up and down the wings for 73 minutes before making way for Kai Havertz. On 48 minutes, the Pinneberg-born player, signed from the FC St Pauli youth team in 2016 (50 U19 appearances, 14 goals) plus two recent U 20 international caps for Germany (one goal), had the first chance in the second half but his shot from a tight angle landed just the wrong side of the post. "Sam had a very decent performance," praised Heiko Herrlich after the youngster's first appearance.
And the meeting with Ludogorets was also special for two other players: Ramazan 'Rambo' Özcan was in goal in a Europa League match for the first time. For that reason, the 34-year-old Austrian secured the match ball after the final whistle. Lars Bender (introduced on 63 minutes) made his 50th appearance on the European stage last night – 28 games in the Champions League and 22 in the Europa League. The Werkself skipper has worn the Bayer 04 shirt in all his European matches.
There was a tragic conclusion to the first game of the season for Panagiotis Retsos. The 20-year-old, who suffered a broken hand and a torn right thigh ligament in the pre-season, made his comeback against Ludogorets. Unfortunately, the central defender suffered an injury in a challenge on the half-hour mark and he had to go off with a suspected muscle injury – the exact extent of the injury will be revealed with an MRI scan today.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen have loaned U19 midfielder Jeremiah Mensah to Dutch second-tier side Roda JC Kerkrade for one year. The 18-year-old Germany youth international has a long-term contract at the club to 2031.
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Bayer 04 kick off the final phase of their 2026/27 pre-season preparations with a friendly against Premier League club Nottingham Forest. Head coach Carles Martínez’s team will take to the pitch at the City Ground today, Wednesday 12 August (kick-off: 8.45 pm/7.45 pm local time). Werkself-TV will broadcast the match live and in full exclusively for Bayer 04 members via livestream from 8.35 pm...
Villa Fiorito, River Plate, Ligue 1, the World Cup final and now Bayer 04: Facundo Medina’s life story so far has been shaped by special places, clubs, matches and names. One of them is Diego Maradona, who, like Medina, hailed from the south of Buenos Aires. Another is Exequiel Palacios, his former team-mate at River Plate, who was raving about Bayer 04 to him as recently as the World Cup in North America. Medina has now taken the plunge into the Bundesliga and, as an Argentine World Cup runner-up, has joined Bayer 04 from Olympique de Marseille this week. It is set to be the next successful chapter in his career. Leverkusen’s new number 2 brings with him a South American mentality and passion, a wealth of experience from many years in Ligue 1, and a fascinating story to the Rhineland – and to a club where the 1.84-metre-tall left-footed player will be reunited with Palacios and several other familiar faces.
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Shortly after signing his contract with Bayer 04, new signing Facundo Medina spoke to Werkself.tv about his first impressions of the club, his expectations and his conversations with his Argentine compatriot Exequiel Palacios. The defender also reveals what the fans can look forward to. Welcome to Leverkusen, Facu!
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Welcome back! On Tuesday morning, 11 August, Jarell Quansah and Exequiel Palacios – the last of the Werkself’s World Cup participants – returned to training. The two medallists and their team-mates are set to play their final two pre-season friendlies in England this week before the start of competitive fixtures.
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