Kai ‘DETO_OFFICIAL’ Wollin met Bremen’s Fabio ‘FIFABIO97’ Sabbagh in the first clash on PlayStation 4. Both sides were fully focussed and tried to avoid making any mistakes. Wollin played a clever game for the 90 minutes and earned a point in a goalless draw with a direct rival. “The opponent is well-known for his strong defence. I knew I wouldn’t get many chances. I had two or three decent openings but I didn’t finish them well. I didn’t give anything away at the back,” was his assessment.
In the second game on Xbox 1, Fabian ‘B04_DUBZJE’ De Cae played Michael ‘MEGABIT’ Bittner. The match promised to be a thriller. De Cae netted a brace in the first half and secured a deserved 2-1 victory in the end. “I played really well in the first half and was clinical with both chances. The opponent played a pressing game in the second half and threw everything into attack. I allowed myself to get distracted and played too fast but I deserved to win in the end,” said ‘B04_DUBZJE’.
Matchday 12 followed in the evening with a game against Hannover 96 that saw Marc ‘MARC_LDW23’ Landwehr make his singles debut for the #B04eSports team on PlayStation 4. Landwehr made an impressive start to the game with aggressive pressing and he won a lot of challenges. He was well on top in the first half and did not give away any clear-cut chances. After his opening goal, he quickly doubled his lead. The game took an unfortunate turn for the worse in the second half with a penalty conceded and Hannover went on to level. “With the second goal I conceded, I brought the central defender back to prevent the opponent playing a diagonal ball. But it can’t be helped. An unlucky twist,” said Landwehr. “Although I would have preferred to win, I was very happy to play my first singles match on PlayStation.” De Cae faced Fabian ‘H96_DONCHAP’ Deutscher in the second match. He clocked up a 1-0 win on Xbox 1.
The doubles matches against Werder Bremen and Hannover 96 will be played on the New Year due to the coronavirus pandemic. That meant the Bayer 04 eSports trio were able to secure provisional 4-1 wins. The team go into the winter break in the North West division in fifth place on 45 points. Bayer 04 are back in action against Holstein Kiel on matchday 14 on 12 January.
The Bayer 04 women’s team secured a win in the friendly during the international break. Without a total of eight international players, coach Roberto Pätzold’s team defeated Bundesliga 2 side Borussia Mönchengladbach 3–1 at the Kurtekotten Training Centre, thanks to goals from Lobke Loonen (1’, penalty), Caroline Kehrer (41') and Valentina Mädl (66').
Show more
Bayer 04 will have to manage without striker Christian Kofane in the coming weeks. The 20-year-old sustained a muscle injury to his left thigh on international duty with the Cameroon national team during the recent international break. This will prevent him from playing in the upcoming Werkself matches.
Show more
FSV Mainz 05 went into the international break on the back of an away win at Borussia Mönchengladbach. Currently sixth in the table, the Rheinhessen side – who have been impressive on the road – now aim to continue their good start to the Bundesliga campaign at home when they face the Werkself on Saturday, 10 October (kick-off: 15:30 CEST). In terms of squad selection, Urs Fischer once again has more options at his disposal. Up front, the Mainz coach is likely to continue relying on what is currently the league’s most successful strike partnership. The lowdown on our next opponents.
Show more
Exciting experiences and exclusive insights into the Werkself and the BayArena awaited the young footballers from the BA04 Football Academy Guangzhou in China during their visit to the Rhineland this week. As well as taking part in a joint training session with the Bayer 04 Football Academy, the youngsters marvelled at the Bundesliga club’s stadium during a guided tour. The highlight of the visit was a private press conference with former Bayer 04 striker Stefan Kießling, during which he shared tips from his own career with the young players. On Saturday afternoon, 10 October, the group will round off their visit by supporting the Werkself in the away match in Mainz.
Show more
Fans ask, Carolin Simon answers: As part of Bayer 04’s second Ask Me Anything (AMA) session on Reddit, the Leverkusen captain took questions from the community. The full-back, who returned to the club this summer after ten years away, set aside an hour and a half for the Q&A session with fans, offering a very personal insight into, amongst other things, her daily life as a footballer and her role as captain, as well as her passion for Pokémon.
Show more
