Head coach Xabi Alonso made six changes to the XI that took on Arsenal on Wednesday. Lukas Hradecky took over from Matej Kovar between the sticks. In addition, Alejandro Grimaldo, Arthur, Robert Andrich, Jonas Hofmann and Victor Boniface started on Saturday.
The Werkself got off to a controlled start and were solid at the back while relying on many passes in their build-up play as usual. Nabil Fekir missed the first chance for the away side (12’) before Florian Wirtz’ low effort went just wide after a failed clearance (18’). Piero Hincapie let fly following fine interplay down the left, but Betis keeper Rui Silva saved his effort. The Werkself slowly but surely asserted their authority, Sevilla’s Marc Bartra beating Boniface to a Wirtz cross (34’). Hofmann missed a chance before half-time and the sides turned round with the game still goalless.
The Andalusians were dominant after the restart, Aitor Ruibal inviting sub Juanmi to score the opener (52’). Xabi Alonso made four changes now, Martin Terrier, Jeremie Frimpong, Aleix Garcia and Jeanuël Belocian coming on for Hofmann, Arthur, Hincapie and Grimaldo. The Black and Reds went looking for an equaliser and found the net, only for Wirtz’ goal to be chalked off for offside (67’). Three minutes later Boniface’s sumptuous sideways scissor-kick went just wide (70’).
Patrik Schick, Amine Adli and Odilon Kossounou came on now, and Alonso’s changes paid off when Betis keeper parried a Schick header, with Belocian on hand to mop up and score his maiden goal for Bayer 04 (78’). Schick had just found the net, but the goal was ruled out for offside again. The Werkself pressed for a winner, but another goal refused to come and the last pre-season friendly ended in a stalemate.
The Werkself contest their first competitive fixture of the new season at the BayArena on Saturday 17 August (kick-off: 20:30 CEST), when German champions and DFB Cup winners Bayer 04 face off with Bundesliga runners-up VfB Stuttgart.
Match stats
Bayer 04: Hradecky – Tapsoba, Tah (Kossounou 74’), Hincapie (Garcia 60’) – Arthur (Frimpong 60’), Andrich, Xhaka, Grimaldo (Belocian 60’) – Hofmann (Terrier 60’), Wirtz (Adli 74’) – Boniface (Schick 74’)
Real Betis:Silva – Sabaly (Bellerin 61’), Bartra (Cardoso 61’), Llorente, Parraud – Roca (Diao 61’), Carvalho (Altimira 82’) – Fornals, Fekir (Losada 82’), Avila (Juanmi 46’) – Ruibal (Rodriguez 61’)
Goals: 0-1 Juanmi (52’), 1-1 Belocian (78’)
Yellow cards: Llorente, Carvalho
Referee: Sascha Stegemann (Niederkassel)
Attendance: 28,395 at the BayArena
Once again, well over 100 Werkself fans were delighted to receive an invitation from the club’s record appearance-maker, Rüdiger Vollborn, to the sold-out Schwadbud at the BayArena. This time, the supporters listened as the club historian provided fascinating, exclusive insights into the period from Bayer 04 being founded in 1904 to the club’s promotion to the Bundesliga in 1979. A journey through time is also planned for the upcoming ‘Rudi lädt ein’ event in early November – this time focusing on the years of the Nazi regime.
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Happy children’s faces at the SSV Lützenkirchen training ground: For the 25th time, the Birkenberg soccer school – organised by SportBund Leverkusen – offered participating youngsters an exciting holiday activity. Meeting a Bayer 04 player has now become a cherished tradition. This time, Ibrahim Maza visited the 150 children and spoke to them about his World Cup experiences, amongst other things. “It’s always lovely to see the children’s enthusiasm for football,” said the 20-year-old, after bringing a sparkle to many eyes with selfies and autographs.
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One day after the successful DFB Pokal first round tie at SV Wehen Wiesbaden (4–0), the mood was understandably really good: Over 400 Bayer 04 supporters gathered on Sunday, 23 August, for the annual fan club meet-up at the BayArena and got in the mood for the new season through direct and informal discussions with Bayer 04 management, head coach Carles Martínez and Werkself players.
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Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 2-0 win at RB Leipzig on the 1st matchday of the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga 2026/27.
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