With the backing of the fans greeting the team bus and 04 changes to the starting line-up, the Werkself were under pressure from Köln early on. The hosts did create several good chances in the first half – but Paulinho (10', 17') was equally unsuccessful as Moussa Diaby (35’) and Kerem Demirbay (41’). The Werkself went into dressing room at half-time with the score at 0-0 but with two injuries (see below). A third substitution was made for the start of the second half as Odilon Kossounou was unable to continue due to a muscular problem.
The substitutions by the other side had a crucial effect on the afternoon: The only goal of the game was scored by Köln’s Kingsley Schindler from an assist by Dejan Ljubicic on 67 minutes – both came off the bench three minutes before the goal. Bayer 04 came close to equalising including two efforts from Sardar Azmoun (74’, 79’) but the ball did not end up in the back of the net. HERE is the match report.
Central defender Jonathan Tah spoke after the game: "We're all incredibly disappointed. Our performance wasn't good enough in the first half." Head coach Gerardo Seoane came to the following conclusion: "Overall it's a bitterly disappointing afternoon for us with the three injuries and the defeat. We could have got more out of it – not just in the taking of chances but also in terms of being combative and our tackling."
Gerardo Seoane already referred to it: Jeremie Frimpong (13’), Florian Wirtz (28’) plus Odilon Kossounou (46’) all had to be substituted because of injuries. While the season is over for Wirtz due to a torn cruciate, it remains to be seen how long the two defenders will be sidelined. Frimpong complained of pain in his ankle and Kossounou had muscular problems. Get well you two and fit again quickly.
It says a lot about the course of the game that the football journal kicker named the Köln keeper Marvin Schwäbe as the Man of the Match. While the team from Cologne used one of their few clear-cut opportunities, the Werkself were ineffective in front of goal on the afternoon. The chances ratio of 7 to 4 confirms that. The Black and Reds also had their noses in front in terms of possession and challenges won – even if narrowly.
"Torn cruciate" – this short and sharp headline in the Süddeutsche Zeitung probably hits all Leverkusen and German football fans hard. Bayer 04 published the diagnosis of the injury to Florian Wirtz on Sunday evening. The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung headline reads "Leverkusen shocked" and Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger also talks about a "shock" and the Kölnische Rundschau opts for the word "nightmare". The Bild reports: "He's out for months. His playing in the World Cup is at great risk."
Following the derby, the Werkself the have another very important fixture coming up: Atalanta visit Leverkusen on Thursday 17 March (kick-off: 18.45 CET) in the UEFA Europa League Round of 16 second leg. That is followed three days later by the Bundesliga away game at VfL Wolfsburg (kick-off: 17.30 CET). The next international break comes after that.
This special event showed once again how strong Bayer 04 are as a team: As part of ‘BarmeniaGothaer gives joy’, the Werkself players Edmond Tapsoba, Ibrahim Maza and Christian Kofane supported the sale of individually designed T-shirts for a good cause at the Fanwelt on Thursday. Several hundred fans came to take part in the charity campaign. Leverkusen's main sponsor BarmeniaGothaer donated the proceeds to the Fondation Edmond Tapsoba, which helps people in Tapsoba's home country of Burkina Faso in their challenging everyday lives.
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With three games to play before the end of the season, the Bayer 04 Women can break one record and equal another at SGS Essen. After three wins on the bounce, coach Roberto Pätzold's team are aiming to maintain the chance of third place in Sunday’s away game (14:00 CEST, Stadion an der Hafenstraße).
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Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personalised Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month…
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From Ouagadougou to Leverkusen – and back: in March, Bayer 04 travelled with Edmond Tapsoba for a special project in his homeland Burkina Faso. The country where his roots and heart lie. The country where he’s more than a world-class defender: a symbol of hope and a role model for an entire generation. The result is a 45-minute documentary about Tapsoba’s long journey from Africa via Portugal to Leverkusen, which offers extraordinary, one-off and emotional insights.
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Edmond Tapsoba has signed an early extension to his contract with Bayer 04 Leverkusen. With two years left on his current deal, the 27-year-old Burkina Faso international has extended his contract until 30 June 2031. The centre-back joined as a young talent from Portuguese top-flight club Vitoria Guimaraes at the start of 2020.
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