
"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," 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."
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.

With 22 days to go until the start of the Bundesliga campaign, the Bayer 04 Women’s team have gained a fresh boost of confidence. In a friendly against Belgian top-flight side KRC Genk on Saturday afternoon, coach Roberto Pätzold’s team secured a 1–0 win. Lobke Loonen (20’) scored the winner for the Black and Reds at the Kurtekotten training centre.
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A successful fourth preseason friendly ahead of the start of the training camp: The Werkself secured a 3-0 victory over Rot-Weiss Essen at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. The goals in what was a commanding and dominant performance by Leverkusen from the outset were scored by Ibrahim Maza (8'), Patrik Schick from the penalty spot (23’) and, in the second half, Montrell Culbreath with a header (79’). The team set off for their training camp in Blankenhain in the Weimarer Land region after the game.
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Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personal Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month…
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You have voted – your ‘Team of the Quarter-Century’ has been decided! This historic selection, covering the period from 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2024, features honorary captains, Bundesliga champions, double winners and Champions League finalists. Edmond Tapsoba is the only player from the current Bayer 04 squad to make it into the starting XI, while his team-mate Patrik Schick is on the bench. Simon Rolfes, the current managing director sport, is also in the lie-up. A truly special team that brings together a quarter of a century of Bayer 04 history – and has left a decisive mark on the club.
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Following Patrik Schick, Mark Flekken, Ibrahim Maza and Kerim Alajbegovic earlier this week, the next World Cup participant is back on the training ground in Leverkusen: On Thursday 30 July, Malik Tillman rejoined the squad, completing his first training session under head coach Carles Martínez.
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