"We were too nice against a men's team in the first half. I'm glad we didn't let our heads drop after going 2-0 down," was the assessment of Peter Bosz who was satisfied overall with the performance of his players. "That was a real friendly. For the first time in the pre-season we played against a team that pressed high. It was hard work," added the 56-year-old.
As was the case a week ago, in the double matchday at Kurtekotten with games against Sittard (0-1) and Eupen (3-4), the Werkself head coach split his squad up into two teams for the matches against Watford (1-2) and SD Eibar from Spain. The simple explanation: All his players were to get as much playing time as possible.
The 'B team’ was led onto the pitch by captain Karim Bellarabi and, playing against the team that finished twelfth in La Liga last term, they competed on equal terms with the opposition in spite of the Black and Reds having four U19 players in the starting eleven in Ayman Azhil, Jan Boller, Adrian Stanilewicz and Cem Türkmen. That did not make any difference for the first half an hour before Ekhi Bravo open the scoring for the visitors (33'). The Spaniards were lucky that the referee Wolfram Aufschnaiter failed to award a foul against the visitors after an incident in Ramazan Özcan's six-yard box.
The match became more disjointed in the second half as the flow of the game was interrupted by a lot niggling fouls as in the first half. After Lucas Alario hit the bar from a free kick (47'), the Spaniards made it 2-0 on 66 minutes – Asier Benito converted a cross from the right from close range. Peter Bosz's team refused to give up and Alario pulled a goal back after good work from Azhil. With five minutes to go, the Argentinian was fouled in the box – the 26-year-old picked himself up to convert the penalty with a shot into the bottom left corner to give the Black and Reds a draw at the end of the training camp.
The evening was less enjoyable for Joel Pohjanpalo. The 24-year-old Finn, who was out of action for a year with a persistent ankle injury, was hit on the site of the injury in a challenge after 20 minutes and he had to be substituted. Bosz was able to give the all clear after the game. "I don't expect him to be out for long," said the Dutchman before adding: "At the start of the week he felt a slight problem with his foot and we knew from the start that he would not play the full 90 minutes."
The Werkself return to Leverkusen tomorrow (Sunday). The pre-season will carry on there with the next friendlies on another double matchday on Sunday 28 July against Heracles Almelo and Vitesse Arnhem at the Kurtekotten Academy.
Bayer 04: Özcan – Boller (Lamti 83'), Retsos, Jedvaj, Sinkgraven – Stanilewicz, Türkmen – Bellarabi (Wolf 80'), Azhil, Pohjanpalo (Onur 22') – Alario
Bayer 04 midfielder Ibrahim Maza was honoured in Paris in the Best Algerian Young Player category at the Fennec d'Or awards for the Algerian Footballer of the Year, organised for the first time by the football journal La Gazette du Fennec. "It's an honour for me," said the 19-year-old, delighted with the award.
Show more
On the back of two wins within four days, Bayer 04 Women round off an intensive Bundesliga week in the Black Forest. Roberto Pätzold's side have the chance to move back up to third place against SC Freiburg in the final fixture of Matchday 10 on Monday (18:00 CET) and draw level on points with second-placed VfL Wolfsburg.
Show more
The last international break of this calendar year features the final qualifying matches for the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico. An overview of who's playing where and when from a Leverkusen point of view.
Show more
Never before have Bayer 04 led 4-0 so early in the Bundesliga, never before have they won a Bundesliga home match by a higher margin. Leverkusen's exhibition display against 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 produced many stories, records and debuts. While Kasper Hjulmand's side celebrated the rousing performance properly with the fans, Jonas Hofmann and Co aren't losing focus: "We have to be careful that we don't just praise ourselves. The games come thick and fast again after the international break." The Werkself Review has all the reaction and analysis of the 6-0 victory at the BayArena.
Show more
