The Ivory Coast were a goal down on 38 minutes. Franck Kessié levelled just after the hour mark and Sebastien Haller netted the winner at 2-1 on 81 minutes. Kossounou was in the starting line-up and he played the full 90 minutes. It is the third AFCON win for the Ivorians and Ivory Coast is the first country since Egypt in 2006 to lift the trophy in their own country.
Ivory Coast reached the knockout stage as one of the four best third-placed teams in the groups. That was followed by a win against Senegal in the Round of 16, victory over Mali in the quarter-finals and DR Congo in the semi-finals.
Bayer 04 congratulates Odilon Kossounou and wishes him a great time celebrating with his teammates. The whole club is looking forward to his return.
The fourth European away trip of the season in the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 takes the Werkself to the Greek capital. Head coach Kasper Hjulmand's team are away to Greek double winners Olympiacos on matchday seven in the UCL league phase. The match at the Karaiskakis Stadium is on Tuesday, 20 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET). We'll be taking you on a trip to Athens and reporting on the Werkself close-up...
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A great honour for Bayer 04 Women's German international: as part of the 2025 Sports Awards, Carlotta Wamser entered her name into the City of Leverkusen's Golden Book. On Tuesday, she looked back on a special year in a talk in the Morsbroich Castle hall of mirrors.
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It was a disappointing night in Athens: The Werkself lost 2-0 away to Olympiacos on Matchday 7 in the league phase of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League campaign. In a match that was intense and fiery from the outset, the high-pressing home side made the better start and took the lead through Costinha on two minutes. Although the Werkself had a number of chances to equalise, the clinical Greek side increased the lead to 2-0 shortly before half-time (45+1’). In the second half, Leverkusen once again gave their all and showed total commitment but, despite their best efforts, the Black and Reds were unable to break down the Olympiacos defence on the night.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have agreed a loan deal with Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach for Argentinian striker Alejo Sarco. The 20-year-old joins Mönchengladbach with immediate effect for the rest of the season.
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The Werkself are away to Greek double winners Olympiacos on matchday 7 in the league phase of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League campaign. Tonight, 20 January (kick-off: 22:00 local time/21:00 CET), Bayer 04 will not only face a familiar face in Panagiotis Retsos, but also an experienced and successful team in their Greek top-flight opponents. The Olympiacos midfield and forward line in particular are peppered with seasoned veterans from top European clubs - but even they will first have to find solutions against the Werkself defence that has recently performed with aplomb in the UCL. The matchday news.
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