Under the headline, 'No winners in deflection party' the BILD declares: "Leverkusen started with three corners in the first three minutes of the game. "Three corners, one spot-kick" is the word on the recreation ground. And in the Bundesliga, it's "Three corners, one goal": Bremen's Ömer Toprak (30) stuck out a leg before Sven Bender got to the ball – own goal (4'). It's the fifth own goal for Leverkusen this season. And there's a system behind that: Speaking ahead of the game against Union Berlin (2-0) in September, coach Peter Bosz said there would be six or seven own goals over the course of the season. The unlucky former Leverkusen player Toprak scored two own goals in a Bayer shirt – and now he's netted a third against his old team. And it continued to be a bizarre encounter: Dragovic deflected a shot from Rashica for the equaliser (40'). And Bremen took the lead through Davy Klaassen (48') again with Leverkusen contributing to the goal – Lars Bender slightly deflected his effort with his arm. This match was a real deflection party!"
The Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung (WAZ) witnessed a "wild game without winners in Leverkusen. Bayer Leverkusen and Bremen draw 2-2. The coaches Peter Bosz and Florian Kohfeldt embraced each other after the final whistle, their players sank exhausted to the ground. Bayer Leverkusen and Werder Bremen pushed each other all the way over 90 entertaining and exciting minutes and showed lots of commitment – but neither side could celebrate at the end."
The KICKER believes Bayer Leverkusen are "in a bit of a results crisis. The 2-2 draw against Werder Bremen, in spite of a dominant performance, was the fifth match in succession without a win. Peter Bosz takes the same view. Speaking to Sky after the drawn game, the Bayer coach said a victory should have been achieved given clearly having more chances and evident superiority: 'We had to win today. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. We also need a bit of luck in this phase.' The Werkself were actually missing that. A Lucas Alario goal ruled out, a header against the bar and the great chance missed by Aleksandar Dragovic would have been enough to earn a deserved 3-2 win against Werder. Only that didn't happen."
"2-2 against Bremen: the Werkself with lots of commitment but again without a win," was the headline in the Kölner Stadt Anzeiger. "Bayer 04 Leverkusen and Werder Bremen shared the goals in a 2-2 draw in a frenetic match on Saturday night. It could have been 4-4 or 5-3." The reporter was impressed by "the emotional Leverkusen reaction to going behind in the second half. The tactical plan had not worked, the drills in the passing game were absent but the team at least found a battling unity and impressed against a Bremen side, known for the susceptibility of their defence, with pure desire and commitment. That's not the strategy of the coach Peter Bosz but it did provide the spectators and fans at the stadium spectacular match and top entertainment." The man of the match was Karim Bellarabi: "His runs and crosses, above all in the second half, were worth the entrance money. The former Germany international tore through the left side of the Bremen defence and his performance actually deserved much more than just the one assist he provided."
The Frankfurter Rundschau summed up the events on the pitch as follows: "Leverkusen did put more effort into attacking but it was Bremen who again benefited from a deflection with the goal from Klaassen. Sergent put the Dutchman in a position to shoot. In a very open game, Alario scored a deserved equaliser for Bayer with the assist from Bellarabi. And Alario then hit the bar with a header (67'). Bayer were on top in closing stages."
A fresh look for the BayArena: The Bayer 04 stadium will have new seating in the form of folding seats for the 2026/27 campaign that will ensure significantly improved seating comfort and simplified movement within the rows of seats. As part of routine replacement after 17 years, fans of the Werkself were able to purchase the existing seats, used to witness the first German league title in the club's history. In addition, a large proportion of the seats will be donated to charitable projects, primarily in the local region. Bayer 04 fans can look forward to new, functional folding seats for the season opener at the beginning of August - still in the club colours of black and red, of course. A glimpse at the BayArena during the refurbishment.
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On Monday evening, 8 June, around 250 people came to the Bürgerhaus Baumberg at the invitation of Bayer 04 to find out details of the new plans for the campus on Alfred-Nobel-Straße at an information event. More compact, greener and with many advantages for Monheim am Rhein - those are the aims. There were lively discussions for around three hours and some misunderstandings were cleared up.
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Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and Bayer 04 loanee Francis Onyeka are part of Germany's final squad for the U19 European Championships this summer. The tournament is in Wales from 24 June to 12 July.
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When Malik Tillman arrived at Bayer 04 Leverkusen from PSV Eindhoven last summer, he did more than just add attacking midfield strength to the team — he reconnected the club with a unique and understated American lineage that stretches back more than three decades.
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Bayer 04 are away to third-division club SV Wehen Wiesbaden in the first round of the 2026/27 DFB Pokal. That was the outcome of the draw on Saturday night, 6 June, at the German Football Museum in Dortmund. The Werkself first round tie will be played between 21 and 24 August. The exact date has yet to be finalised.
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