‘That’s how they are’ is the headline for the match report in the Sunday edition of the Frankfurter Allgemeine and the article continues: “And Bayern win in the end: Lewandowski made it 2-1 in added time against an impressive Leverkusen side.”
The Werkself won particular recognition for the performance in the first half. "Bayer 04 approached this game with an energy and precision that no other team has shown against Bayern Munich and coach Hansi Flick," praised the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger. "The Werkself restricted the record champions to 35 per cent possession. The lead made the relative strengths even clearer."
The goal is described as follows in the BILD: “Leverkusen took a quick corner on the right. Amiri sent in a long cross to the unmarked Schick who thumped the ball into the back of the champions’ net with a brilliant cracker of a volley from fourteen yards out. 1-0 to Leverkusen. That again demonstrated the new Werkself strength at set pieces.”
The Welt am Sonntag takes a look at the stats: “It was Leverkusen's ninth goal from a corner this season." The newspaper also declares: "The Munich side were fortunate on 28 minutes when a goal from Schick was ruled out due to an offside decision."
RP Online saw the half-time score of 1-1 as flattering for Bayern and not just because of that. "The Flick team only had the better of the game in the 15 minutes before half-time," said the match report. "Yet the equaliser at 1-1 from world footballer of the year Robert Lewandowski had not really been on the cards (43')."
"The equaliser gave Bayern a boost," was the view of the EXPRESS, "the visitors only posed a threat after half-time."
In contrast, the WAZ declares: "Bayern were very strong at the start of the second half but Leverkusen quickly recovered and it developed into an enthralling match that could have gone either way at any time." The final sentence of the match report may well sound rather bitter for all Werkself supporters: "But then the world footballer of the year struck again."
Bayern Munich come to the BayArena this Saturday with an 11-point lead in the Bundesliga as they look to take a step closer to the title. As imperious as they may seem, a weakness has emerged of late that the Werkself proved they can exploit in Wednesday’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal in the Champions League. Leverkusen are also looking to make it four Bundesliga home games unbeaten against the Bavarians. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the 15:30 CET kick-off in our matchday news.
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Another home game, another top opponent - another marker? Three days after their convincing performance in the 1-1 draw with Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg, Bayer 04 continue their Bundesliga campaign with an equally high-calibre fixture. Matchday 26 sees league leaders Bayern Munich visit the sold-out BayArena. Ahead of the clash, head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about a comparison between Arsenal and the Bavarians, Bayern's high-scoring performance in Europe's premier club competition and a return to the squad for one Werkself player.
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High spirits and previously untold stories: Around 100 Bayer 04 fans packed the Schwadbud fan pub in the east stand of the BayArena on Thursday evening to be there in person for the first instalment of the new series of events entitled “Rudi lädt ein” (Rudi invites you). They listened intently as long-serving Werkself players Gonzalo Castro and Stefan Kießling chatted with record appearance-maker Rüdiger Vollborn and presenter and stadium announcer Tobias Ufer about their many years together at the club, shared amusing anecdotes and revealed dressing room secrets. Anyone who missed the premiere can already look forward to the second instalment – on 12 May, Rudi will be testing the expert knowledge of Bayer 04 fans during a quiz night.
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The Bundesliga home game against VfL Wolfsburg in the first half of the season was one of those classic ‘days to forget’ for Bayer 04 Women. It started with goalkeeper Charlotte Voll being shown a red card in the first minute of the game, and following a further sending-off, coach Roberto Pätzold's 9-women side ended up losing 5-1 to last season's runners-up. At 18.30 CET on Sunday, they'll have the chance to exact revenge at the AOK Stadium - and pick up valuable points in the race for third place.
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They're well on their way to becoming German champions for the 35th time and once again proved their incredible class in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday. This Saturday, 14 March (kick-off: 15.30 CET), Bayern Munich will be the visitors to the BayArena. It'll be a meeting of the two Bundesliga teams with the most dominant styles of play. A look at our opponents shows the visitors from the Bavarian capital have many strengths - but are also vulnerable.
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