Ten Werkself players are currently away on international duty – and coach Heiko Herrlich had to manage without Lars and Sven Bender plus stalwart Stefan Kießling, who is still recovering from a cold. Lucas Alario did play as the suspension for the Argentinian following his red card in the derby against FC Köln did not apply to this friendly. Goalkeeper Niklas Lomb shared the bench with four U19 players Max Schneider, Marius Samoura, Hajdar Shala and Chinedu Ekene. Two of the youngsters were in the starting eleven: Tim Stappmann in the back three and Herdi Bukusu in midfield. Bochum, under former Bayer 04 coach Robin Dutt, did not start with Sidney Sam and Robbie Kruse did not play as he is away with Australia on international duty.
The second division side, who endeavoured to compete, had the first chance at Kurtekotten with keeper Rambo Özcan forced into action after just four minutes. In contrast, Bayer 04 made full use of their first opportunity at the other end: Bukusu put Kevin Volland through and the Germany international, who became a father for the first time at the weekend and therefore missed the game in Cologne, tucked away a low shot with his right foot to give the Werkself the lead on 11 minutes. Shortly after that, Karim Bellarabi missed a good chance to double the lead. Bukusu was quick to make amends: The youngster made it 2-0 with a great volley after a Bochum player had blocked the first effort from Alario on 15 minutes. And the encounter continued to prove entertaining for the crowd: Johannes Wurtz benefited from confusion in the Bayer 04 defence and he left Özcan with no chance as his diagonal shot from the right found the far corner of the net to make it 2-1 and 21 minutes.
The game continued in the same fashion: A header from Simon Lorenz went just wide of the Leverkusen goal on 25 minutes, Leon Bailey fired a right-foot shot against the Bochum woodwork on the half-hour mark. Volland then set up Alario to restore the two-goal lead on 33 minutes. The Werkself kept up the pressure as they sought to exploit their advantage: Volland headed home a pinpoint cross from the right by Bailey and Bayer 04 with then 4-1 in the lead on 39 minutes – and that was the half-time score in a lively encounter.
After the break – now with Niklas Lomb in goal – Bayer 04 took a considerably more relaxed approach to proceedings. Heiko Herrlich brought on Hajdar Shala and Chinedu Ekene for Wendell and Bukusu on 63 minutes. Alario matched Volland as he netted his second goal: The central striker – picked out well by Bellarabi – curled the ball into the far corner to put Bayer 04 5-1 up on 70 minutes. Lomb was able to shine on 76 minutes as he kept out an effort from Hinterseer with a fine flying save. Marius Samoura replaced Volland two minutes later and Max Schneider came on for Bailey om 81 minutes. Kevin Stöger rounded off the scoring with a goal from a free kick for VfL with the match ending 5-2 in favour of Leverkusen.
Line-up in friendly:
Özcan (Lomb 46') – Stappmann, Frey, Wendell (Shala 63') – Yurchenko, Kohr – Bellarabi, Bukusu (Ekene 63'), Bailey (Schneider 81') – Volland (Samoura 79'), Alario
The penultimate Bundesliga matchday of the calendar year marks the end of an eventful first half of the season for the Bayer 04 Women. After seven wins, one draw and four defeats from the first twelve games of the season, coach Roberto Pätzold's team can go above Werder Bremen in the table with a win on Friday, 12 December (kick-off: 18:30 CET).
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The third showdown in the VBL Club Championship 2025/26 kicks off for the Leverkusen eSports team this Thursday, 11 December (live on the B04eSports Twitch channel from 19:00 CET). In the online preliminary round, the Black and Red will once again take on six previously drawn opponents for a place in the Top 16 and the associated entry into the offline knockout round, which will take place at this third showdown on 19 December in Cologne. Showdown One winners Bayer 04 will face FC St. Pauli, who won the second showdown last month, among others. The lowdown on first three opponents in this online preliminary round.
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Alejandro Grimaldo, of course! With his late equaliser (88') in the Champions League clash against Newcastle United, the Spaniard rescued a point for the Werkself, who took the lead through an own goal by Newcastle's Bruno Guimaraes (13') but went with two goals for the visitors scored by Anthony Gordon (51') and Lewis Miley (74'). It was the third draw for Bayer 04 in the current 2025/26 campaign on matchday 6 in the UCL league phase.
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The Werkself will be looking to continue their run in the Champions League against Newcastle United on Wednesday, 10 December (kick-off: 21:00 CET). The two victories without conceding a goal at Benfica (1:0) and Manchester City (2-0) will hopefully be followed by a win at home at the BayArena. Against the English side, who have a player with a Black and Red past in their ranks, the way to victory could be through efficiency in attack and quick transitional play. The latter in particular has recently caused the Magpies problems away from home on the European stage. Fans can also get the stylish matchday sticker for their Sound of Dreams tour pass at the Bayer 04 Fanwelt. The matchday news.
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For the first time ever, Bayer 04 have reached the knockout phase of the UEFA Youth League. At the end of the league phase, the Leverkusen U19s secured a 2-1 home win against Newcastle United on Wednesday, 10 December. Montrell Culbreath scored before half-time and Ferdinand Pohl doubled the lead after the restart in the clash with the English side. The UCL youth competition continues at the beginning of February with the Round of 32, which will be played away from home without a second leg.
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