The Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung assesses the draw against Schalke as follows: "Just one week after the sheer Sunday pleasure of the 6-1 triumph over Eintracht Frankfurt, the daily grind returned for Bayer 04 Leverkusen. The Werkself only managed a 1-1 draw against a courageous Schalke team... The draw keeps Leverkusen in fifth place. The dream of fourth place and associated qualification for the Champions League lives on to the last Bundesliga matchday when Bayer play in Berlin."
Bild am Sonntag reports: "Setback for Leverkusen – in the race for the Champions League. Everything was set up for the Bundesliga anniversary at the home game: Choreography, legends like Zé Roberto and Christoph Daum, the pros in specially produced retro shirts – and then only a 1-1 draw against Schalke!" The paper quotes Rudi Völler, managing director sport at Bayer 04, on the performance of referee Aytekin and the action by Schalke's Caligiuri against Julian Baumgartlinger on 77 minutes: "Herr Aytekin today decided to give a penalty whenever a Schalke player fell over in the penalty area. I think everybody in the stadium would have wanted him to look at the incident involving Baumgartlinger too."
The Express describes the impressive opening phase by the Werkself: "Bayer initially applied constant pressure against the background of the celebrations of 40 years in the Bundesliga in their smart retro shirts. Charles Aránguiz hit the bar on twelve minutes and Julian Brandt turned the rebound against the post. Aránguiz, Brandt, Kevin Volland and Lucas Alario missed great chances against a helpless Schalke team before Kai Havertz volleyed in his 16th goal of the season to finally create a 1-0 lead."
The Rheinische Post takes a look at the table ahead of the last matchday: "The situation in the table has become more complicated for the Werkself after the draw. Qualification for the Europa League is certain but fourth place and the Champions League appear to be more unrealistic ahead of the final day of the season. Borussia Mönchengladbach are in a better position as they have a superior goal difference than the Werkself (both on 55 points). Frankfurt are below but they have the game against Mainz on Sunday night (54). Wolfsburg in seventh place (52) only theoretically have a chance of making the top four due to their significantly worse goal difference."
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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