When Atletico Madrid arrive at the Cologne/Bonn Airport on Tuesday afternoon (5 November), above all their central striker can step onto German soil in confident mood. Until he scored against the Werkself, Morata had only found the back of the net once in the Spanish top-flight against Getafe on matchday one – and that was back in the middle of August. Since then the Spain international has had knee problems as well as a suspension that have kept him out of the side.
However, after coming on against Bayer 04, the 27-year-old scored with a header on 78 minutes – and that was the start of a run. The striker got his name on the scoresheet in all three of the following La Liga games: In the 2-0 win against Athletic Bilbao, in the 1-1 draw against Deportivo Alaves and in the same result against Sevilla. So there will be plenty for the Bayer 04 defence to do
Ahead of the game against Bayer 04, Atletico have injury worries about four players who have the potential to be in the starting line-up: Central defenders Jose Maria Gimenez and Stefan Savic (both with muscle injuries), right-back Sime Vrsaljko (knee operation) plus prodigy Joao Felix (sprained ankle) could still be sidelined. In the last match against Sevilla, the back four was made up of four summer signings - Renan Lodi, Hermoso, Felipe and Kieran Trippier.
The situation in the table in the top flight in Spain is similar to the Bundesliga: Just five points separate league leaders Barcelona and Valencia in thirteenth place. Bayer 04 opponents Atletico are currently one point behind Barca – the team from the capital are fourth. Atleti currently have a remarkable goal difference: With twelve goals scored and seven conceded, the games involving Atletico have produced comparably few goals. If the Werkself succeed in winning then they would be the second team after Real Sociedad (0-2, matchday four) to beat the team coached by Diego Simeone this season in a competitive match.
Ticket sales for another Bayer 04 Women's home game have begun. Fans can now purchase tickets for the match against SGS Essen at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium on Saturday, 22 November. The latest information at a glance.
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It took 120 minutes, but once again Bayer 04 produced a late goal to win their DFB Pokal second-round tie away at Paderborn on Wednesday. “Same as always” was the line in Bild in homage to the 2023/24 double-winning season. With Jeanuel Belocian making his first start in over a year and Ibrahim Maza netting his first Werkself goal to secure a place in the last 16, Jonas Hofmann is eager to “take the positive feeling” into the next round.
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A DFB Pokal thriller that had it all - including a positive outcome from a Bayer 04 perspective. After a goalless and uneventful first half, the second round tie at SC Paderborn 07 really took off: Following a red card for the second division side, Grimaldo scored to give Bayer 04 a 1-0 lead but Paderborn levelled before the end of normal time. The home side then turned the game round at 2-1 in extra time, before Quansah, Maza and Garcia scored for the Werkself to make it 4-2 to seal a place in the Round of 16.
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SC Paderborn 07, the second-placed team in Bundesliga 2, face the Werkself in the second round of the DFB Pokal. Although Paderborn have won six games in a row, Bayer 04 have never lost to SCP. That will hopefully continue on Wednesday, 29 October (kick-off: 18:00 CET) with Patrick Ittrich the man with the whistle. The experienced referee will have to make do without the support of VAR at the Home Deluxe Arena. Read on for further information on tonight’s game in the matchday news.
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