Bayer 04 and Peter Bosz agreed a contract extension on 17 January and announced the Dutch coach would stay at the club to 2022. Bosz's previous record is impressive: The Werkself have played 58 games under him and picked up an average of 1.90 points per match – no other Bayer 04 head coach, in charge for more than ten games, has a better average. By comparison: Jupp Heynckes averaged 1.87 points in his two seasons at Bayer 04. The only ones better than that were caretaker managers: Peter Hermann (1 game/3 points on average), Rudi Völler (7/2.43) and Sascha Lewandowski (54/1.94).
2020 is only three months old and will certainly still have some highlights up its sleeve. But one has already happened: the 4-3 home win against Borussia Dortmund. In spite of BVB leading twice, the hosts turned the game round in 82 seconds late on with goals from Leon Bailey and Lars Bender. Kevin Volland also bagged a brace.
This time they came incredibly close. On 15 February, the score in the Bundesliga match between Union Berlin and Bayer 04 was 2-2 on 90 minutes – a flattering result from a Werkself perspective who produced a below-par performance at the An der Alten Försterei stadium. For the first time ever, it looked like the Berlin team were going to take a point from a clash with the Black and Reds. Then Karim Bellarabi scored in the 04th minute of added time to make it 3-2 and destroy the Union dream. After the Werkself also came out on top in the DFB Cup quarter-final tie against Union two and a half weeks later, the record for the Berliners against the Werkself is now: five games – five defeats.
FC Augsburg have been waiting even longer for a win against Bayer 04. The 2-0 defeat on 23 February was the 20th attempt in a competitive fixture (Bundesliga and DFB Cup). The record to date for FCA: 14 defeats, 6 draws – and not a single win.
This loss hurts: Kevin Volland was also in top form in 2020 and always good for a goal or two – but the 27-year-old striker suffered a torn ankle ligament in the Europa League game against FC Porto. Time out injured: approximately three months. Volland underwent an operation immediately and is now in rehab. A comeback before the end of the season looked to be tight – now that appears to be more realistic if the season extended due to the coronavirus pandemic. Volland is hopeful: “I’m making great progress. I’m confident complete recovery could happen one or two weeks earlier than planned.”
Bayer 04 can look back at 999 away goals in the Bundesliga with the last one netted by Leon Bailey on 1 March at RB Leipzig. Who will make it 1,000? We will have to wait patiently for the answer...
“I just wanted to show what I can do. Perhaps some people don’t know me that well,” said Paulinho in explaining his goal celebration after the 4-0 win against Eintracht Frankfurt – he ran to the North Stand and bowed to the fans. The Brazilian, in his first start for Bayer 04, repaid that with a double and an assist. Since detailed records have been kept, (2004/05), Paulinho is the first player at Bayer 04 to be involved in three goals in a Bundesliga game on their first start.
Winter signing Exequiel Palacios made his debut on 5 February in the DFB Cup tie against VfB Stuttgart. The Argentinean played for the full 90 minutes in his first outing and has played three games since.
Following the Werkself going out of the Champions League at the end of last year after finishing third in the group, the club were in the Europa League in 2020. And with great success! Bayer 04 fans witnessed brilliant performances from their Werkself team: The Peter Bosz team comfortably beat FC Porto in the Round of 32 with a 2-1 home win and a 3-1 victory away and the Werkself also impressed in the Round of 16 first leg with a 3-1 win at Glasgow Rangers: And hopefully there is more to come!
But then it all came to a stop – at least for the time being. The match in Glasgow was the last game in front of a crowd; as it turned out, the last before the postponement of domestic and European games due to coronavirus. The match will certainly be remembered by the 900 travelling Werkself fans. The atmosphere during the game and particularly after the final whistle was brilliant! A little party before the break.
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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Bayer 04 will have to manage without defender Guéla Doué for the time being. The Ivory Coast international sustained a muscle injury to his right calf during the final Werkself training session yesterday ahead of the Europa League clash with Slovenian champions NK Celje.
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For the first time since reaching the final against AS Roma (2–2, first leg 2–0) in May 2024, Bayer 04 are playing another home match in the UEFA Europa League – and they will be wearing their new European kit. On Wednesday 16 September (kick-off: 21:00 CEST), the BayArena will welcome Slovenian champions NK Celje, who appointed a new coach this week following a mixed start to the season. Under the slogan “40 Years Across Europe. Still Creating History.”, the Black and Reds now aim to add the next chapter to their European history, which has seen so much success in recent years. Bayer 04 fans can follow the match on free-to-air TV on RTL, as well as on Sky and Werkself Radio. The matchday news.
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European football returns to the BayArena: Bayer 04 host Slovenian champions NK Celje on matchday 1 in the group stage of the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League. Ahead of the match on Wednesday 16 September (kick-off: 21:00 CEST), head coach Carles Martínez and midfielder Aleix Garcia spoke at the pre-match press conference. The focus was primarily on the great anticipation surrounding the competition and the clear objectives for it – and, given the circumstances, on a last-minute change to the opposition line-up.
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