The assessment of the 3-1 defeat at home to VfL Wolfsburg on kicker.de reads: "Bruno Labbadia beat his former club Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga for the first time at the thirteenth attempt. As in the surprise victory against FC Schalke on matchday one, Labbadia's VfL Wolfsburg produced an impressive display at the BayArena to secure a 3-1 win with a brace scored halfway through the second 45. The Werkself threw away the lead from a strike by Bailey and remain pointless."
There is a similar view in the report in the online edition of the BILD: "Yesterday, the lead came first followed by the mistakes: Leon Bailey (21) scored with a curler for the opener on 24 minutes. Wofsburg's response: Gerhardt crossed from the byline and the Bayer keeper Özcan (34) punched the ball into his own net (36'). Unlucky: 'Anyone can make a mistake and I've made one too. But the way I've caught myself out, that's how everybody should do it. We lacked determination, ambition and sharpness.' That's right! Nothing went right for Leverkusen after the restart. A double whammy from Weghorst (55') and Steffen (60') sealed the away win for Wolfsburg."
The Rheinische Post headline reads 'Perfect false start from Bayer' and the paper identified the double blow at the start of the second half as the decisive phase of the game: "Weghorst headed Bruno Labbadia's team into a 2-1 lead on 55 minutes. The Werkself looked shaky after going behind. Just as Herrlich reorganised his defence, the Wolves scored the next goal. Renato Steffen exploited the completely disorganised defence of the hosts to make it 3-1 on 60 minutes… Herrlich then gave Paulinho his Bundesliga, and Isaac Kiese Thelin his home debut. The 26,247 fans at the BayArena waited in vain for a fight-back from the ambitious hosts. The game ended with a deserved 3-1 win for the visitors."
The Sonntags Express looks ahead and describes the difficult situation: "It's off to Munich next. And a third defeat threatens away to Bayern. 'We won't moan and look for excuses. We have to grit our teeth and look to turn it round," said Ramazan Özcan. The coach was also disappointed: 'Two defeats don't meet our expectations. No points is a difficult situation. It will be a tough challenge in Munich and we have to be more organised in defence."
The Werkself host Paderborn in the DFB-Pokal round of 16 today, Wednesday 6 December (18:00 CET) at the BayArena. Here’s all the latest information ahead of the cup clash with the Bundesliga 2 club.
Show moreThe Bundesliga has announced its nominees for November’s Player of the Month, with two Werkself players up for the award in Alejandro Grimaldo and Jeremie Frimpong. Fans can now vote for who they want to win.
Show moreNext year marks Bayer 04’s 120th birthday. To celebrate the occasion, we would like to take the opportunity, today and in the next few months, to regularly look at football under the Cross on bayer04.de and primarily delve into the question of: How have we become the club we are today? Part two of our series looks at our fans. Werkself supporters are enjoying this season like never before, providing incredible support both home and away.
Show moreThe Bundesliga has named the three nominees for November’s Rookie of the Month award. Werkself striker Victor Boniface, who has won the trophy in August, September and October, is once again up for the award. Fans have the chance to pick the winner by casting their votes online.
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