Three days after the 4-0 win against Twente Enschede, Bayer 04 sealed another victory in a friendly against the team third from bottom in the Dutch first division (Eredivisie). "3-1 is a good result," was the assessment of Bosz. "Today we tried to do a couple of things better that we didn't do so well in the game against Twente. In the first friendly for example, the build-up from the back took too long for my liking and we did it better today. But there are also other things we have to do better in future," added the 55-year-old Dutchman.
Bosz separated his squad into two teams for the first of two friendlies of the day: A side for the match against Zwolle and another for the friendly against Preußen Münster, which followed directly after the first game behind closed doors. "We don't have much time and it's important for me to get to know all the players. And it's good for the players to get 90 minutes on the pitch," said the new Werkself head coach in explaining the approach.
In front of a crowd of 470 at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium, the Werkself got off to the poorer start against the visitors from Holland – in the opening ten minutes, goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky kept his team from going behind three times. The Black and Reds then came into the game and created a number of goalscoring opportunities. After shots from Julian Brandt, Leon Bailey, Kai Havertz, Charles Aránguiz and Lars Bender failed to find the back of the net it was Kevin Volland who opened the scoring on the half-hour mark. Brandt provided the assist with some impressive dribbling and the final pass. Just three minutes after the opener, Bailey, who was playing on the right flank, doubled the lead – this time Volland provided the assist in the penalty area. Havertz was then twice frustrated by saves from the alert PEC keeper Mickey van der Hart. Bayer 04 went into the break with a 2-0 lead.
In the second half, the Werkself carried on where they had left off in the first 45 minutes, playing on the front foot and pressing the visitors back. Of the best chances created for the Werkself, only Bailey was able to reap the benefit when on 75 minutes – put through by Brandt – he coolly slotted the ball past the Zwolle keeper van der Hart to double his tally. Seconds before the final whistle, Zwolle prevented a second win for Bayer 04 without conceding when Stanley Elbers converted a rebound from close range to make it 3-1.
Bayer 04: Hradecky – L. Bender (Stanilewicz 69'), Tah, S. Bender, Wendell – Aránguiz – Bailey, Havertz, Brandt – Volland, Bellarabi
The Bayer 04 players were put through their paces at the Werkstatt – the club’s rehabilitation and training centre – on Sunday as they completed the first and main part of this year’s performance diagnostics. New signings Mark Flekken, Ibrahim Maza and Axel Tape, as well as players returning from their holidays, all did the customary medical and athletic tests.
Show moreThe team departs for Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Monday for the Bayer 04 Brazil Tour 2025 from July 14-24. The preseason journey marks a change from recent training camps in the Austrian Alps and Black Forest and we caught up with CEO Fernando Carro to ask him about this summer's visit to Brazil.
Show moreMalik Tillman and the USA could not quite achieve the hoped-for big win in their own country. Last Monday’s final in the CONCACAF Gold Cup in Houston ended up in a 2-1 defeat for the hosts against Mexico. But the Bayer 04 new signing can be very happy with the course of the tournament and his own performances. Tillman was in the starting line-up for all six games. That concluded an impressive season for him after winning the Eredivisie title in the Netherlands with PSV Eindhoven. Bayer04.de profiles the 23-year-old new signing.
Show moreBayer 04 Leverkusen have signed the USA international Malik Tillman. The 23-year-old attacking midfielder joins the Werkself from Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven. Tillman, with German roots and born in Nuremberg, has a contract at Leverkusen to 30 June 2030. He scored 16 goals and provided five assists in 34 games for PSV last season. Three of those goals and two assists were in six matches in the UEFA Champions League.
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