
Support from ‘outside’ was not hidden from the press. "Around 80 Bayer fans vocally celebrated the victory against their archrivals in front of the stadium," wrote the EXPRESS, "their chants could be heard in the ground and on TV in the closing stages."
The fact they were able to celebrate the derby victory was in part due to a lightning start by the Werkself. "Diaby left Jannes Horn standing on the right and then provided a pinpoint cross to Bailey at the far post," reports kicker online in praising the assist for the first goal.
The online report on the Eurosport website describes the goalscorer returning the favour in the second half as follows: "Bailey and Diaby counter-attacked following a Köln corner but this time it was Bailey who provided a perfect assist for Diaby with the Frenchman turning the ball into an empty net from close range after Bailey had already taken Timo and Jannes Horn out of the game."
Double goalscorer Bailey received top marks from RP online – also due to his excellent individual move for the final goal. "The 23-year-old was put through by substitute Kerem Demirbay, he evaded Rafael Czichos, Noah Katterbach and Sebastiaan Bornauw in succession and slotted the ball away to make it 3-0," is their assessment.
For the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger, Bailey was the 'Man of the Match' and 'Best man on the pitch'. "Bayer 04's Jamaican winger scored two goals and provided one assist in his first start under Hannes Wolf," reports the newspaper. "His great solo run to make it 3-0 was the result of his pace and his determination."
BILD reviews the impressive start made by Hannes Wolf and looks to the immediate future. "Leverkusen are back on course for the Europa League after the win," writes the newspaper. "The club have picked up seven points in three games under Wolf. They now face the almost certain champions in Munich on Tuesday."
The assessment in Die Welt looks even higher. "Leverkusen (…) move above Borussia Dortmund into fifth place at least overnight and reinforce (…) their European ambition," is in the online edition of the newspaper. "Fourth place and qualification for the Champions League is still six points away with five games left in the season."

The FIFA World Cup 2026 in the USA, Canada and Mexico is underway. A total of eight Leverkusen players are taking part in the 23rd World Cup, with 48 teams in the tournament for the first time. Bayer04.de brings you all the latest from Werkself players at the World Cup.
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A goal-fest to kick off the U19 European Championship in Wales: Germany defeated Denmark 4–3 in their first Group A fixture. Both Montrell Culbreath and captain Francis Onyeka were in the starting line-up, with the latter scoring the first goal of the game from the penalty spot on five minutes.
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Bayer 04 have transferred U19 midfielder Emmanuel Chigozie Owen to FC Utrecht in the Eredivisie.
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Renovation work has been underway at the BayArena for several weeks now as part of the stadium’s routine refurbishment after 17 years. More and more of the new folding seats – which, from next season, will provide significantly greater comfort and make it easier to move between rows – have now been installed. The new high-quality seats have now been fitted throughout the entire east stand, giving the BayArena a new lease of life.
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