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
Bayern Munich come to the BayArena this Saturday with an 11-point lead in the Bundesliga as they look to take a step closer to the title. As imperious as they may seem, a weakness has emerged of late that the Werkself proved they can exploit in Wednesday’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal in the Champions League. Leverkusen are also looking to make it four Bundesliga home games unbeaten against the Bavarians. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the 15:30 CET kick-off in our matchday news.
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Another home game, another top opponent - another marker? Three days after their convincing performance in the 1-1 draw with Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg, Bayer 04 continue their Bundesliga campaign with an equally high-calibre fixture. Matchday 26 sees league leaders Bayern Munich visit the sold-out BayArena. Ahead of the clash, head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about a comparison between Arsenal and the Bavarians, Bayern's high-scoring performance in Europe's premier club competition and a return to the squad for one Werkself player.
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High spirits and previously untold stories: Around 100 Bayer 04 fans packed the Schwadbud fan pub in the east stand of the BayArena on Thursday evening to be there in person for the first instalment of the new series of events entitled “Rudi lädt ein” (Rudi invites you). They listened intently as long-serving Werkself players Gonzalo Castro and Stefan Kießling chatted with record appearance-maker Rüdiger Vollborn and presenter and stadium announcer Tobias Ufer about their many years together at the club, shared amusing anecdotes and revealed dressing room secrets. Anyone who missed the premiere can already look forward to the second instalment – on 12 May, Rudi will be testing the expert knowledge of Bayer 04 fans during a quiz night.
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The Bundesliga home game against VfL Wolfsburg in the first half of the season was one of those classic ‘days to forget’ for Bayer 04 Women. It started with goalkeeper Charlotte Voll being shown a red card in the first minute of the game, and following a further sending-off, coach Roberto Pätzold's 9-women side ended up losing 5-1 to last season's runners-up. At 18.30 CET on Sunday, they'll have the chance to exact revenge at the AOK Stadium - and pick up valuable points in the race for third place.
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They're well on their way to becoming German champions for the 35th time and once again proved their incredible class in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday. This Saturday, 14 March (kick-off: 15.30 CET), Bayern Munich will be the visitors to the BayArena. It'll be a meeting of the two Bundesliga teams with the most dominant styles of play. A look at our opponents shows the visitors from the Bavarian capital have many strengths - but are also vulnerable.
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