The Werkself women’s team entertained FC Köln early on Sunday evening in a the first friendly at Kurtekotten. Achim Feifel rang the changes in three 30-minute thirds. “We wanted to see how the different teams worked together on the pitch. Every player was able to play in her favourite position,” said the head coach. The Bayer 04 women took the lead on 38 minutes – the visitors put the ball in their own net from a corner. “We were pretty dangerous overall from corners and I liked that,” summed up Feifel, who does see the need for his defence to be more organised during transition moments. Sandra Maria Jessen doubled the lead on 52 minutes from a counter attack. FC Köln pulled a goal back from the penalty spot five minutes later – the referee spotted a ball by Nina Brüggemann. The game was abandoned on 76 minutes due to a thunderstorm.
The coaching staff were able to get a first look at their players after the summer break at the weekend: The Bundesliga women’s team beat the Bayer 04 women’s second team 5-0. Milena Nikolic (51’+ 54’), Henrike Sahlmann (60’), Jessica Wich (69’) and Juliane Wirtz (76’) scored the goals.
The first members of the Bayer 04 women’s squad met up at Kurtekotten at 07.15 CEST on Monday morning. Following coronavirus tests, the team bus was loaded and Achim Feifel and his squad headed off for a one-week training camp in Westerwald. The team will be based on Wiesensee until Sunday, 23 August. “The hotel is quite secluded and we will be able to fully focus on training and, above all, work on fitness and tactics. There will also be team building activities – that helps bonding,” said Feifel.
There will be up to three coaching sessions a day in Westerwald and there should have been a friendly against the Standard Liege women’s team at the end of the week on Saturday, 22 August. However, due to coronavirus restrictions, the Belgian top-flight side are not allowed to travel abroad and the game has been called off at short notice. As an alternative, the women’s team will play an internal eleven-a-side practice match.
With the exception of the injured Pauline Wimmer (torn cruciate) and Nicole Banecki (back problems), all the players will be at the training camp. Antonia Göransson has returned home to Sweden. The contract with the 29-year-old has been terminated by mutual agreement. Göransson will play for the Swedish club Växjö DFF this season.
Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 1-2 loss against VfL Wolfsburg on the 2nd matchday of the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga 2026/27.
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Bayer 04’s eight opponents in the group stage of the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League have been confirmed. At the draw on Friday 28 August held at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco, the Werkself were drawn against two opponents from each of the four pots. There are a total of four home and four away matches. Read on for details of opponents and fixture dates.
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In the 3-2 defeat at Bundesliga newcomers SV 07 Elversberg, the Werkself found the back of the net in the closing stages and, with a bit of luck, could still have equalised. “Today, our play wasn’t good enough, particularly when it came to the basics,” said head coach Carles Martínez. Like the boss, Ibrahim Maza also wants to learn from the match and look ahead: “Next week, people should be able to see from the very first minute that we want it more than our opponents.” The Werkself review on the Bundesliga opener in 2026/27.
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Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 2-3 loss at SV 07 Elversberg on Matchday 1 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season...
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No points to start the league campaign: Bayer 04 lost 3-2 away to newly promoted SV 07 Elversberg in the first Bundesliga match of the 2026/27 campaign. Two quick-fire goals from Lukas Petkov (8’) and Cole Campbell (10’) gave the hosts an early lead, before David Mokwa scored the Saarland side’s third shortly after half-time (46’). In the closing stages, the Werkself rallied and staged a late comeback with goals from Patrik Schick (77’) and Christian Kofane (90+1’), but the Black and Reds were denied an equaliser.
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