Compared with the impressive friendly win at VfL Bochum (2-0), head coach Erik ten Hag made three changes to his starting line-up: Axel Tape, Ibrahim Maza and Amine Adli came in for Arthur, Granit Xhaka and Jonas Hofmann. With Sittard's last game before the start of the season in the Eredivisie it was the Werkself who quickly sought to dominate possession. The first shot on goal fell to Alejandro Grimaldo from a free kick, which saw the ball end up in the arms of the Fortuna keeper Mattijs Branderhorst (5’). Two minutes later, a header from Jarell Quansah went just wide of the target and Adli also had an effort on goal (8’). At the other end, Mark Flekken had to save a header from Philip Brittijn (19').
Again and again, the Werkself were confident on the ball in the opposition half but were unable to get closer than 20 metres from the Sittard penalty area. The half-hour mark was up when captain Robert Andrich tried a long-range effort (29’). The first goal came from a corner taken by Grimaldo and it was converted with a powerful header by Quansah (32') - the deserved lead with the first goal for the new signing from Liverpool. Shortly after that, the Werkself lost possession in the centre of the park and the opposition launched a counter-attack with Tape making a last-ditch tackle to prevent a shot from Sittard's Makan Aiko (37’). And then the second goal of the night the scored by Bayer 04: Andrich fed Nathan Tella with a long pass to the right and, at the right moment, he passed to the advancing Adli who coolly put the ball in the back of the net (41'). An impressive move that secured a 2-0 lead for the Werkself at half-time.
Arthur replaced Maza for the start of the second half and Quansah cut out a chance for Fortuna substitute Paul Gladon two minutes after the restart. The next quarter of an hour saw little action with an Arthur cross in the direction of Tella cut out at the last moment (59’). Four minutes later there was a great chance for the eye-catching and impressive Tape but he was unable to beat the Fortuna keeper Branderhorst in a one-on-one. Now the Werkself, with several new players on the pitch, moved up another gear. Adli had another chance (66’) but the next goal was scored by Sittard’s Luka Tunjic to make it 2-1 (70’). Good news: Piero Hincapie made his comeback from an injury lay-off in the closing stages. The Werkself, with almost a completely different line-up including several youth players, were able to hold on to the narrow lead and secure a win.
The Werkself are next in action with a friendly against the Italian side Pisa SC, newly promoted to Serie A, at the BayArena on Tuesday, 5 August (kick-off: 18:00 CEST). The game is part of the official Bayer 04 season opener with the stadium opening at 15:00 CEST. Tickets are available HERE!
Match stats:
Fortuna Sittard: Branderhorst - Pinto, Hubner (Tunjic 63'), Adewoye, Dahlhaus (Johnson 88') - Michut (Gbemou 85'), Brittijn, Fosso - Limnios, Aiko (Gladon 46'), Peterson (Schenkhuizen 85'/Bisschops 88')
Bayer 04: Flekken - Tape (Hincapie 72'), Quansah, Tapsoba - Tella (Kofane 66'), Palacios (Buono 84'), Andrich (Mensah 80'), Grimaldo (Culbreath 66') - Maza (Arthur 46'), Adli (Sarco 80') - Schick (Boniface 72')
Goals: 0-1 Quansah (32’), 0-2 Adli (41’), 1-2 Tunjic (70’)
Yellow cards: Brittijn - Tella
Referee: Jannick van der Laan (Cuijk/Netherlands)
After eight years in the youth set-up at Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Benjamin Adam is leaving the club. The 35-year-old, who most recently coached the Leverkusen U17s, will take charge of the Hansa Rostock U19 team next season.
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There was a successful end to the women's internationals with Werkself players Carlotta Wamser and Cornelia Kramer qualifying for the 2027 World Cup finals in Brazil. A third Leverkusen player is still in with a chance of joining them. The Germany U23 players also experienced success in their last two international friendlies of the season.
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Traveling to North America for the World Cup this summer to see your favorite Bayer 04 players? Here’s a quick cheat sheet with thumbnail portraits and insider tips for each city from a local expert, so you can make the most of your visit and activities beyond the game!
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A fresh look for the BayArena: The Bayer 04 stadium will have new seating in the form of folding seats for the 2026/27 campaign that will ensure significantly improved seating comfort and simplified movement within the rows of seats. As part of routine replacement after 17 years, fans of the Werkself were able to purchase the existing seats, used to witness the first German league title in the club's history. In addition, a large proportion of the seats will be donated to charitable projects, primarily in the local region. Bayer 04 fans can look forward to new, functional folding seats for the season opener at the beginning of August - still in the club colours of black and red, of course. A glimpse at the BayArena during the refurbishment.
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