1.02.2023Werkself-TV

Matches of the month (06.02.2018): Bellarabi Winner in extra time

15 years later, on 6 February 2018, a quarter-final against Werder Bremen at the BayArena. The Werkself play the North German team for the seventh time in this competition – and the team from Bremen have always come out on top, most recently two years before with a convincing 3-1 win in Leverkusen. It looked like the same old story after ten minutes: the team from the Hanseatic city lead 2-0 with goals from Kruse and Johannsson and the Bayer 04 fans are already forgetting the dream of a title.

Display videos

Yes, I'd like to see videos dispalyed.

But the Werkself fight back and pull a goal back on 31 minutes through Julian Brandt. When the same player equalises on 55 minutes, the BayArena goes wild. The tie now develops into an exciting cup quarter-final with chances at both ends but at 90 minutes the score is still 2-2. In the second half of extra time, coach Heiko Herrlich brings on Karim Bellarabi in place of Dominik Kohr. The roof comes off the BayArena three minutes later when Bellarabi scores from an almost impossible angle to make it 3-2 on 111 minutes.

In that minute there is one of my favourite photos from the history of Bayer 04 – the already substituted but now completely euphoric Julian Brandt expressing his joy with a jump of the century. When Kai Havertz seals the win five minutes later, the hope of going to Berlin is palpable throughout the whole stadium. However, the dream unfortunately does not come true due to a heavy 6-2 home defeat against Bayern Munich.

Related News

Bayer 04 - 27.01.2026

Ankle injury: Bayer 04 player Ben Seghir out for several weeks

Bayer 04 Leverkusen will to have manage without forward Eliesse Ben Seghir. The Morocco international suffered a ligament injury in his left ankle before the AFCON final defeat against Senegal (0-1 a.e.t.).

eSports - 27.01.2026

#B04eSports: Reunion with Leipzig in part two of the Showdown Four preliminary round

The VBL Club Championship 2025/26 continues. Tonight, 27 January (live on Twitch and on the Bayer 04 app from 18:00 CET), the Leverkusen eSports team will play the remaining three matches in the online preliminary round of Showdown Four. They are up against FC Kaiserslautern, SC Freiburg and the current club champions and Showdown Three winners RB Leipzig, with whom Bayer 04, club runners-up and Showdown One winners, shared some memorable moments, especially last year. The lowdown on our next opponents.

Bayer 04 - 27.01.2026

Former Borussia captain with international experience: Jonas Omlin profile

Welcome to Leverkusen, Jonas Omlin. Bayer 04 have signed the 32-year-old goalkeeper on loan from Bundesliga side Borussia Mönchengladbach until the end of the season. Managing director sport Simon Rolfes described the Swiss shot stopper, signed by the Werkself in reaction to the long-term absence of first choice keeper Mark Flekken, as an "internationally experienced keeper." Bayer04.de takes a closer look at the new signing, who will wear the number 18 jersey.

Champions League - 26.01.2026

Sound of Dreams tour pass: Pick up your final sticker now and take part in the competition

Under the motto ‘Sound of Dreams - #aCROSS Europe 2025/26’, Bayer 04 are turning this season's UEFA Champions League season into a festival. In addition to a Spotify playlist that fans can use to get in the mood for the Champions League nights, there is also a tour pass with stickers for the respective UCL matches exclusively for Bayer 04 Club members. These could be picked up in the respective weeks of the matches. The sticker for the final clash in the league phase (Villarreal, 28 January, 21:00 CET) is now available at the Fanwelt. The competition for all diligent sticker collectors is also now open. Read on for further information.