Head coach Klaus Toppmöller made one change to the side that drew 2-2 in Manchester the previous week: Oliver Neuville started up front in place of Dimitar Berbatov – a like-for-like change that was to pay off.
Roy Keane gave the Red Devils the lead on 28 minutes. Neuville levelled in added time in the first half with a wonderful chip from 16 yards out. The provider Yildiray Bastürk was happy to recall the move in a recent interview with bayer04.de: “I played a short pass to him, Olli controlled the ball, turned and then hit his shot from a standing position under the bar. A really brilliant goal,” said Bastürk.
The match ended all square at 1-1 and Bayer 04 deservedly progressed to a Champions League final for the first time in the club’s history. Hampden Park in Glasgow was the venue for the showdown between the Werkself and Real Madrid that ended in a narrow 2-1 victory for Real. Bayer 04 TV recalls the semi-final in Leverkusen that today comes of age.
Match stats:
Bayer 04: Butt – Zivkovic, Lucio, Nowotny (Sebescen 10’), Placente – Ramelow, Ballack, Schneider, Bastürk (Vranjes 79’), Zé Roberto – Neuville (Berbatov 85’)
Manchester United: Barthez – Brown (Forlan 81’), Blanc, Johnsen (Irwin 60’), Silvestre – Roy Keane, Scholes, Butt (Solskjaer 61’), Veron, Giggs – van Nistelrooy
Goals: 0-1 Roy Keane (28’), 1-1 Neuville (45 +2’)
Referee: Kim Milton Nielsen (Denmark)
Booked: Zé Roberto – Butt, Scholes, Irwin
Attendance: 22,500 (sell out) at the BayArena
Following last weekend’s big game against Wolfsburg, Bayer 04 Women face another exciting challenge as they visit Hoffenheim to kick off Matchday 3 in the Google Pixel Bundesliga on Friday (kick-off: 18:30 CEST).
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Under the slogan ‘Holidays without War’, 60 children from war-torn Ukraine took part in the summer camp organised by the German-Ukrainian association Blau-Gelbes Kreuz in Leverkusen and the surrounding area in August. The children aged between 10 and 14 – many of whom have lost their parents in the war – come from the Ukrainian twin towns of Leverkusen, Cologne and Monheim am Rhein: Nikopol, Dnipro and Volodymyr. Bayer 04, Bayer AG and TSV Bayer 04 supported the camp to mark its 10th anniversary, enabling even more children and young people than in previous years to spend a few carefree days’ holiday away from the war in the Rhineland.
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Midfielder Ruby Grant is leaving Bayer 04 Leverkusen and joining Portuguese runners-up Sporting CP a year before her contract expires. The 24-year-old has been at the Werkself since January 2025.
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Bayer 04 have loaned Brazilian full-back Arthur to Bundesliga side Werder Bremen for one year. Arthur Augusto de Matos Soares – the full name of the right-back – has a contract with Leverkusen until 30 June 2031. At Werder, the 23-year-old is expected to make an impact and help the long-established club further consolidate their position in the Bundesliga.
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