
The Welt am Sonntag headline reads: ‘Leverkusen scrape to victory’ and the report states: “Leverkusen made hard work of it, particularly in attack. Lucas Alario converted a penalty on 26 minutes to open the scoring but Heiko Herrlich’s team then failed to extend their lead. Again and again, the Werkself floundered on Pforzheim’s defence, their own inability and the bar.”
The Bild am Sonntag quotes the Bayer 04 coach Heiko Herrlich: “I’m glad we’ve overcome this hurdle. We made it very difficult for ourselves.”
The online edition of the Kölner Stadt Anzeiger describes the incident leading to the injury to Julian Baumgartlinger: “Baumgartlinger carelessly lost possession in the opposition half. In his attempt to stop a counter-attack and make amends for his own mistake, the Austrian got his feet caught up on an absurd surface for a DFB fixture and he twisted his left knee. Baumgartlinger, who was full of ambition for the new campaign after an excellent pre-season, was carried off on a stretcher.”
The football analysis in the Stadt Anzeiger reads: “Bayer 04 found it hard going both on a terrible playing surface and against an aggressive and defensive opponent. Due to more chances and 80 per cent possession, Leverkusen did earn the win.” Goalkeeper Ramazan Özcan was named the Bayer 04 man of the match: “He stopped the Werkself going behind with an impressive save (23’) and prevented an equaliser (90’) and he was also always alert. Luck was on his side when Dominik Salz hit the outside of the post (73’).”
The online assessment of the Rheinische Post reads: “Bayer struggled against the defence of the rank outsiders. The difference in leagues was evident in the opening stages with 95 per cent of the action taking place in the Pforzheim half.”

With the European season ticket, fans can follow and support the Werkself on the European stage during the 2026/27 season – and are guaranteed a ticket and a seat for every UEL home match at the BayArena, right up to and including a potential semi-final. In addition, holders of the European season ticket save 20 per cent on each UEL ticket.
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Bayer 04 Women warmed up for the start of the Bundesliga season with an emphatic 7-0 victory over Belgian top-flight club Standard Liège on Saturday afternoon. Over four periods of 30 minutes, Cornelia Kramer, Lilla Turanyi and Valentina Mädl each netted a brace for the dominant Werkself, after Loreen Bender had opened the scoring. Roberto Pätzold's side kick off their league campaign at RB Leipzig in eight days.
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After the 2-1 defeat at Premier League club Nottingham Forest the night before, it was straight back to work for the Werkself at midday on Thursday with an intensive training session in hot temperatures at the hosts' training ground.
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Werkself TV shows the highlights of the 1-2 loss in the friendly match at Nottingham Forest...
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The Werkself suffered a first defeat in the current pre-season fixtures. The sixth friendly of the summer ended in 2-1 reverse at Premier League Nottingham Forest. The English side took an early lead (4’) but Patrik Schick levelled just after the half-hour mark (32’). Nothing much happened after that, and the match looked set to end in a draw. However, the hosts managed to score the winning goal late on (90').
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