Head coach Gerardo Seoane made three changes to his side that started in the 1-1 draw at Hertha Berlin: Daley Sinkgraven, Florian Wirtz and Nadiem Amiri came in for Piero Hincapie, Exequiel Palacios and Paulinho (all on the bench).
The Werkself made a fantastic start and had the ball in the back of the net after three minutes: Moussa Diaby put the ball through to Jeremie Frimpong on the right wing and he crossed from the byline to the far post to Amine Adli. The header from the Frenchman was cleared by Manuel Riemann but the ball was over the line – an early 1-0 lead for the Black and Reds.
Bochum soon responded with a free kick from Eduard Löwen from 25 yards out but that was comfortably saved by the Bayer 04 keeper Lukas Hradecky (8'). At the other end, Riemann would have been helpless to keep out a Wirtz header few minutes later. However, the youngster headed a brilliant cross from Robert Andrich just wide of the target (16').
Both teams played on the front foot – even though VfL Bochum were more defensively organised and increasingly relied on counter-attacks. Both sides were keen to attack. The next notable move came from the visitors: After an unsuccessful corner from the Werkself, Bochum stepped up a gear and quickly moved up to the Leverkusen penalty area. In the end, Takuma Asano had a great chance to level but Jonathan Tah was in the right spot to clear the ball off the line – good luck for the Seoane team (26').
Bayer 04 had two great chances to increase their lead six minutes before half-time. Wirtz lacked accuracy (39') and then Riemann pulled off a great save to deny Sinkgraven (42'). The Black and Reds took a 1-0 lead into the break.
The visitors came out fighting in the second half and pressed for the equaliser. Edmond Tapsoba and Co. were on their toes and defended well in front of their own goal – VfL were unable to create any positive chances to upset the Leverkusen defence. At the other end, Wirtz had chances to double the lead: The 18-year-old was on his own after a Bochum corner but his finish was too hectic and his shot from 16 yards out was wide of Riemann's goal.
The Werkself were increasingly passive in the second half and the visitors had more of the game. But VfL striker Sebastian Polter and his fellow attackers did not really pose a threat. Asano had the best chance but Hradecky saved the long-range effort (67'). Substitute Paulinho had an opportunity chance to seal the game with 15 minutes to play: The Brazilian was through on Riemann but was unable to beat him – the VfL keeper produced a brilliant reflex save (77'). That was the final dangerous situation for both sides as the match ended in a 1-0 home win for the Black and Reds.
After four league games without a win, Bayer 04 picked up three important points. As VfL Wolfsburg were only able to draw 2-2 against Arminia Bielefeld, the Seoane team have moved up to fourth in the table. Kerem Demirbay and Co. are back in action on Thursday, 25 November (kick-off: 18.45 CET). Celtic visit the BayArena in the Europa League
Match stats:
Bayer 04: Hradecky – Frimpong, Tapsoba, Tah, Sinkgraven (Hincapie 76') – Andrich, Demirbay (Palacios 65') – Diaby, Wirtz (Kossounou 90’), Amiri (Paulinho 76’) – Adli
Bochum: Riemann – Stafylidis, Lampropoulos, Masovic, Soares – Löwen (Novothny 82’), Losilla, Rexhbecaj (Pantovic 69’) – Asano, Polter (Ganvoula 82’), Antwi-Adjei (Bockhorn 69’)
Goals: 1-0 Adli (3’)
Booked: Frimpong, Diaby, Adli – Masovic, Soares
Referee: Daniel Schlager (Hügelsheim)
Attendance: 22,538
Bayer 04 are away to Croatian champions Dinamo Zagreb on Matchday 5 of the league phase of the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League. The game kicks off on Thursday 26 November at 18:45 CET at the Maksimir Stadium. All the information on ticket sales.
Show more
It wasn’t just on the pitch that there was cause for celebration around the Werkself’s 2–1 home win against SC Freiburg. Plenty of happy faces could be seen near the dugouts at half-time too. Once again, CEO Fernando Carro, alongside former striker and club ambassador Stefan Kießling, paid tribute to eight supporters’ clubs celebrating up to their 30th anniversary on behalf of Bayer 04.
Show more
It was a match that will live long in the memory of everyone involved: The Bayer 04 U19s celebrated their seventh win in seven matches in the DFB Youth League preliminary round – and yet it was a very special victory indeed: in the 4–3 (1–1) win at VfL Bochum 1848, no fewer than five goals came in the final quarter of an hour. As the 90th minute approached, coach Patrick Greveraars’s side found themselves behind, but then fought back in true ‘Laterkusen’ style.
Show more
Under Carles Martínez, the Werkself have so far proved unbeatable at the BayArena. The Spaniard has led his team to victory in all three of their most recent home matches – and, it's worth noting, without conceding a single goal. On Sunday, 18 October (kick-off: 15:30 CEST / live on DAZN and Werkself Radio), current league leaders SC Freiburg will make the trip to Leverkusen, but will be without their top scorer. What's more, the Werkself have won all three of their previous home matches against the Black Forest club. With a goal, Patrik Schick could not only secure a fourth consecutive victory but also set a memorable record. Meanwhile, on what will be the ‘Health Day' at the BayArena, much of the focus will be on physical wellbeing. Today's matchday news.
Show more
Werkself-TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04 Women's 1-1 draw against Eintracht Frankfurt on Matchday 7 of the 2026/27 Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga.
Show more
