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Xabi Alonso delivered the most important information from a Black and Red perspective right at the start of the pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon: "Everybody has recovered well from the game, there are no injuries." His team secured a convincing 5-1 victory over Qarabag in the Europa League on Thursday night. As usual, the ambitious Spaniard is now looking forward again: "The most important thing is for us to carry on in the same way. And that's what we want to do."
To maintain the focus each week primarily requires "consistency. We talk every day and give 100% every day. If you want to be successful then you can't afford to stand still."
The Werkself have only won one of the last five home games against SC Freiburg. "Freiburg are difficult to play against," said Alonso. The visitors from the Breisgau come to Leverkusen on the back of two wins in succession but will have to manage without Roland Sallai and Maximilian Philipp. The attacking duo at SCF were injured in the Europa League game against Backa Topola (3-1) on Thursday night.
Alonso has great respect for Freiburg's coach Christian Streich. The 41-year-old said regarding his fellow coach, who has been in charge at Freiburg since 2012: "We had a bit of a chat after the game in Freiburg last year. I can learn a thing or two from coaches like him."
The Werkself go into matchday eight as league leaders. Bayer 04 have won all games with the exception of the 2-2 draw at Bayern Munich. The situation at the top of the table is tight despite that. Only two points separate first and fourth spots. "It's great for the league that it's so exciting," said Alonso in response to a question. "Stuttgart are playing brilliantly and have a clear approach, Bayern are always there. Of course, there’s also Dortmund and Leipzig as well as Hoffenheim who are doing well behind them."
In recent days and weeks, a lot of events have been organised for the first district matchday at the weekend involving people from the Leverkusen district of Opladen. An early get-together at the Zwieback bar in Opladen on Sunday from eleven in the morning should provide the perfect start to a hopefully successful day of football at the BayArena.
The club will be present in different areas of Leverkusen over the coming months as part of the new Bayer 04 campaign of district matchdays. The game against Freiburg is one of six of these special matchdays this season
From the 2027/28 season, the Women’s Bundesliga will be organised by an independent league association. Following the unanimous decision taken at the DFB Bundestag (national conference) on Friday afternoon, the league’s separation from the DFB is now official.
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Following the Bundesliga clash against RB Leipzig (Sunday, 20 September, 15:30 CEST), some of the Werkself first team players will be heading off for the first international break of the season. Here is an overview of the Bayer 04 players called up for their national teams and all the details of their upcoming matches.
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A special visit to the BayArena: 222 members from volunteer fire brigades in Leverkusen, the Rheinisch-Bergisch district and the Oberbergisch district watched the Werkself’s 2–0 home win over Slovenian champions NK Celje live in the stadium. Bayer 04 had invited them to the 2026/27 Europa League opener as a thank-you for their tremendous dedication. They watched the match together in Block F4.
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The Bayer 04 U19s have extended their winning run with a fifth consecutive victory on Matchday 5 of the DFB Youth League’s preliminary round. Coach Patrick Greveraars’ side secured a 3–2 (2–1) win in their match against second-placed FC Viktoria Köln, with Burak Kir and Nebe Domnic scoring for the hosts in the first half before captain Ben Hawighorst found the net after the break.
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