Heiko Herrlich, who gave his players the day off on Sunday after the match, kept to his word by fielding a completely different starting eleven for the match against Preußen Münster. Only the U19 player, Jakub Bednarczyk, who played for 15 minutes against Fürth on Friday, was back on the pitch against the third division side. Benny Henrichs returned after recovering from a bruised foot and he lined up in defence alongside Tin Jedvaj and Wendell. Leon Bailey, suffering from a cold, was rested with the Jamaican completing a one-to-one session with fitness coach Daniel Jouvin in the morning. Bayer 04 played with three up front: Joel Pohjanpalo, Stefan Kießling (captain for the day) and Lucas Alario.
The powerful attacking trio were the focus of attention from the start in front of the 1,500 crowd. After a one-two with Alario, Pohjanpalo put the ball just wide of the top corner on six minutes. The Argentinian then opened the scoring from a precision pass from Kießling on eight minutes. The busy Alario remained centre stage and, after being thwarted by the Münster keeper Nils-Jonathan Körber on 27 minutes, then doubled the lead on 33 minutes – the central striker initially slipped from Bellarabi's cross but he was quick to make amends and cease his chance. Bayer 04 could have had a clearer lead if Pohjanpalo not missed good chances on 30 and 38 minutes. Münster then took advantage of the hosts losing possession in the build-up with almost the whole team moving up the pitch. Ramazan Özcan made a save, Wendell then cleared off the line before Lennart Stoll turned the ball into the net to make it 2-1 on 39 minutes.
There were two changes at half-time: Niklas Lomb took the place of Özcan in goal, Sam Schreck replaced Bednarczyk as an attacking midfielder on the left. And then there were clear-cut chances for the Werkself: A powerful shot from Bellarabi on 50 minutes was saved by the keeper Schulze Niehues, and Alario failed to convert the rebound to complete his hat-trick. The visitors were now more effective and they levelled the scores at 2-2 with a free kick from Akono on 63 minutes. Münster, who changed the whole team at half-time, looked much more lively. Bellarabi then went off injured on 79 minutes with the winger being replaced by Hajdar Shala. Both sides had the chance to win before the end of the match: A shot from Adriano Grimaldi was saved by Lomb with his foot on 88 minutes and the Münster keeper kept out Pohjanpalo at the other end a minute later.
"Of course, we can't be happy with the conversion rate. But I'm satisfied with the performance. Most of the players had to cope with jet lag or not having played 90 minutes recently. As they were supposed to put the opposition under pressure the whole time, it was clear to me we would ease off after 60 or 65 minutes," said head coach Heiko Herrlich after the game. The Werkself have time for a breather on Sunday before returning on Monday for a double training session in preparation for the game against Bayern.
Bayer 04: Özcan (Lomb 46') – Henrichs, Jedvaj, Wendell (Akkaynak 72') – Bellarabi (Shala 79'), Frey, Aránguiz, Bednarczyk (Schreck 46') – Pohjanpalo, Kießling, Alario
Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personalised Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month.
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Kasper Hjulmand has led the Werkself back to winning ways and is back in the knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League with Bayer 04 after the 3-0 win against Villarreal on Wednesday evening. In an interview with the Werkself magazine at the BayArena in the team meeting room, directly opposite the dressing room, he provided some special insights for the current issue, which was published in January. A conversation with the 53-year-old coach about values, attitudes and personal experiences as well as interests outside of football.
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The thrilling 3-1 win for Bayer 04 against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Hinrunde is a fond memory for Alejandro Grimaldo, with his brace from free kicks, and coach Kasper Hjulmand, who was in the dugout under the Cross for the first time. Now comes the return fixture in the metropolis on the River Main and after going out of the DFB Pokal and the Champions League, the full focus at Eintracht, currently managed by two interim coaches, is now on the Bundesliga. For their part, the Werkself will do everything in their power to continue the longest winning run against a Bundesliga club. The matchday news.
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Bayer 04 have ended Artem Stepanov’s loan deal at Nürnberg and agreed a new loan to Utrecht in the Netherlands. The Ukrainian striker did not play as much as hoped for at the Bundesliga 2 club and will now continue his development in the Eredivisie for the rest of 2025/26.
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The draw for the knockout play-offs of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League was made on Friday, 30 January and saw Bayer 04 paired with Olympiacos. It’s a reunion with the Greek side following the Werkself’s 2-0 loss in Athens on Matchday 7 of the league phase.
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