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
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').
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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