Back
16.01.2021Bundesliga

What the papers say: 'No easy mission' in Berlin

In the Friday night game for the Werkself, Union Berlin not only earned the three points but also received much praise in the match reports.
20210115_JS_FCU_B04_0918.jpg

"The Bundesliga sensation Union Berlin have again upset a top team and stormed into fourth place for at least a day," is the start of the match report in the EXPRESS.

There is a similar assessment in the Tagesspiegel. "With the 1-0 win against Leverkusen, Union secured a good result against a strong opponent at the Alte Försterei for the second time in succession," it says in the report. "After two defeats last season, Union clocked up their first win against Leverkusen at the third attempt."

"Late blow in Berlin"

"Late blow in Berlin," is the headline in the Leverkusener Anzeiger that describes the course of the game as follows: "Bayer 04 had more possession as expected but almost exclusively in areas where there was no danger. Union sat back and waited for mistakes." The Werkself only posed problems "when they were able to bring their fast wingers into play."

There is a similar analysis in the Kölnische Rundschau. "Leverkusen tried to use their greater pace in attack to find a gap in the Union defence and came close to scoring at the end of the first 45 minutes," writes the paper. "Nadiem Amiri and Kerem Demirbay (38') and Julian Baumgartlinger (41') had chances to open the scoring but missed promising opportunities."

Lots of possession, little benefit

Overall, the Rheinische Post believes Bayer 04 made "little capital" from their "large amount of possession." Particularly in midfield, it was "no easy mission" for Nadiem Amiri & Co. to "break through the tightly packed Berlin centre."

For the BILD, the game retreated into the background due to an incident involving Nadiem Amiri. "Union Berlin beat Bayer Leverkusen 1-0 but nobody was talking about the 90 minutes after the game," writes the tabloid – and only mentions the events on the pitch as an aside.

Related News

Olympiacos downed: Werkself celebrate after Schick brace in play-off first leg | Play-offs UCL
Werkself-TV - 18.02.2026

TV highlights of the 2-0 win at Olympiacos

Werkself TV shows highlights of the 2-0 win at Olympiacos in the first leg of the play-offs of the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 league...

Show more
OLYB04
Champions League - 18.02.2026

Olympiacos downed: Werkself celebrate after Schick brace in play-off first leg

The Werkself beat Olympiacos 2-0 in the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League play-off first leg to claim a crucial victory in the Greek capital. After a focused first-half display with a number of presentable chances, Patrik Schick crowned a textbook counter to hand the Werkself the lead on the hour (60’). The Czech rounded off his brace when he headed in from a corner just 144 seconds later. Bayer 04 maintained their lead with aplomb to achieve a good position for the return leg in Leverkusen.

Show more
Kurzpässe vor #OLYB04 Play-offs
Champions League - 18.02.2026

Matchday news #OLYB04: ‘Seize the chance for revenge’

Bayer 04 and Olympiacos had only met twice before the current UEFA Champions campaign. After the encounter on Matchday 7 of this season’s league phase, the Werkself travel to face the Greek side for the second time in just four weeks for the knockout play-off first leg. The Black and Reds were dominant for large spells in mid-January but lost 2-0 after missing a number of presentable chances. The Werkself aim to do better on Wednesday night to “seize the chance for revenge,” as managing director sport Simon Rolfes put it. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game in our matchday news.

Show more
Marc Landwehr
eSports - 18.02.2026

#B04eSports: Bayer 04 miss out on offline round and top eight

A bitter end to the fifth showdown of the 2025/26 VBL Club Championship as the #B04eSports team failed to take any points in the three remaining matches of the preliminary online round of the fifth and final showdown, missing out on the offline round. They can no longer take points in the overall table. Bayer 04 slipped out on the top eight, so direct participation in the final event for the German Club Championship is no longer possible, with Bayer 04 having to contest the play-offs.

Show more