One player, above all, would like to change that: Leon Bailey. At the start of February last year in the second half of the 2018/19 season, the Jamaican cancelled out the goal scored by Leon Goretzka. Bailey scored directly from a free kick (53’).The Peter Bosz team won the game 3-1 thanks to goals in the second half from Kevin Volland (63’) and Lucas Alario (89’).
The next match between the Black and Reds and FC Bayern was at the end of November. The Werkself travelled to the Bavarian capital on the back of a four-game unbeaten run. Bailey scored the opening goal after just ten minutes in a high-quality encounter. Thomas Müller equalised after the half-hour mark (34’) but the 22-year-old replied just one minute later to net the winner at 2-1. That was the fourth goal for the Jamaican in a competitive match against the record champions.
There is definitely room for improvement in the overall record of the Werkself against FC Bayern. Before the two above-mentioned clashes, the Black and Reds had only won 17 out of 87 games. Those previous meetings have included one or two great moments.

There’s lots going on at the BayArena today. The home game against FSV Mainz 05 is all about the numerous Bayer 04 fan clubs, whose birth - the founding of the "1. Fanclub 1976 Leverkusen" - dates back 50 years. A number of fan club representatives will be involved in awards, a banner display and a half-time matchday chat, and the Werkself are set to play in a special white fan club jersey. During half-time, Leverkusen mayor Stefan Hebbel and javelin world champion Steffi Nerius will also talk about the Olympic bid involving Leverkusen. Black and Red fans are advised to get to the stadium in good time today. Matchday news.
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The Werkself host Premier League club Arsenal in the Round of 16 first leg in the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League campaign. The match at the BayArena is on 10/11 March. Read on for information on ticket sales for this fixture.
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The draw for the Round of 16 in the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 was made today, Friday 27 February: Bayer 04 face Premier League leaders Arsenal. Managing director sport Simon Rolfes sees the English team as a "top opponent" and is looking forward to meeting former Werkself players Kai Havertz and Piero Hincapie again.
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After three consecutive victories, FSV Mainz 05 recently suffered setbacks against Borussia Dortmund (0-4) and Hamburger SV (1-1) in the battle to stay up. Nevertheless, the Mainz 05 performance curve has shown a clear upward trend in recent weeks. Their coach and a former Leverkusen player in particular have played a decisive role in this. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen will have to manage without Spanish player Lucas Vázquez for the time being. The experienced full-back and winger suffered an injury to his right calf during the Werkself's Champions League match against Olympiacos (0-0) on Tuesday.
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