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."
Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 1-3 loss against Werder Bremen on the 26th matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2025/26.
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Bayer 04 Women have finished in fifth place after the best Bundesliga season in the club's history in terms of points. Roberto Pätzold's side went down 3-1 at home to SV Werder Bremen on the final matchday. With 46 points and 15 wins, they've bettered the previous record campaign of 2024/25. Despite periods of pressure, Cornelia Kramer's 73rd-minute strike was not enough at the Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion, and the Werkself miss out on European qualification despite a strong end to the season.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have agreed a conract extension with home-grown talent Sofie Zdebel by a further year ahead of schedule. The 21-year-old Germany U23 international will stay at the club until 30 June 2028.
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After the final whistle in the home match against Hamburger SV, it showed once again that the Bayer 04 community sticks together. The team thanked the fans for their great support in a season with highs and lows and a sixth-place finish in the Bundesliga. The Black and Reds will compete in the UEFA Europa League next season. The last Werkself review in 2025/26 has all the analysis.
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Bayer 04 could only manage a 1-1 draw at home to Hamburg in the final game of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season as they finish in sixth place and qualify for the UEFA Europa League. Patrik Schick missed a first-half penalty before Fabio Vieira put the visitors ahead on the hour. Jarell Quansah’s deflected header in the 79th minute earned a point to finish the campaign.
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