With over 76% of the 2,500 votes cast, the 20-year-old Germany international was clearly ahead of his team-mates – the Werkself number 29 played a significant role in securing qualification for the Champions League with 17 goals and four assists in his 34 Bundesliga appearances. The fans certainly recognised the value of the performances and commitment of Havertz and once again rewarded the home-grown Bayer 04 talent with the vote as Player of the Season in a repeat of 2016/17. The award will be presented to Havertz at the season launch event at the BayArena on 4 August. Nils Trude, winner of a competition held as part of the vote, will hand over the trophy.
Charles Aránguiz was runner-up with 7% of the vote. The 30-year-old Chilean scored two goals and provided seven assists in 24 league games last season. The midfield maestro, who carried over his impressive performances in the Bundesliga to the Copa América, was narrowly ahead of Kevin Volland in third place on 5%. The 26-year-old also had an exceptional season and was involved in 18 goals in the second half of the Bundesliga campaign (eight goals, ten assists). The ten-time Germany international scored 14 goals in the Bundesliga to equal his personal goalscoring record from 2017/18.
The following fans were picked out as winners: Nils Trude (2 VIP tickets plus presentation of the trophy), Hilger Georges (home shirt), Michael Herkenroth (away shirt) plus Christopher Leseberg, Stefan Vogt, Daniel Köthe, Kristina Hartmann and Finja Übrick (two tickets each for a home game).
It was another incredibly close call in the end: The second showdown in the 2026/27 VBL Club Championship saw the #B04eSports team once again narrowly miss out on a place in the top 16 of the preliminary round – and with it, a spot in the in-person knockout stage. It was a bitter blow: Marc and Sean Landwehr again fell just short, despite being level on points with their rivals. As was the case last month, their weaker record across the twelve individual matches in the six preliminary round fixtures proved decisive.
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“They stuck with us over the past few weeks when things weren’t going so well,” said captain Edmond Tapsoba, thanking the fans for their support after the 2–1 win in Cologne and dedicating the derby victory to them. Throughout the 90 minutes, the Werkself had looked unfazed and in command, inflicting the first home defeat of the season on FC Köln. It was the sixth consecutive win against the Cologne team for Bayer 04 – head coach Carles Martínez, on the other hand, was facing the team from the neighbouring city for the first time and “now really knows what this derby win means”. The Werkself derby review.
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Following the 2–1 derby victory away at FC Köln on Bundesliga matchday 9, Edmond Tapsoba, Malik Tillman and Aleix Garcia spoke to Werkself TV...
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Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 2-1 derby win at 1. FC Köln Matchday 9 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season...
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There were celebrations among those in black and red at the RheinEnergieSTADION. On Matchday 9 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season, the Werkself beat 1. FC Köln 2-0 and registered their sixth successive win in the derby. Aleix Garcia put Bayer 04 in front after just seven minutes with a direct free kick. Leverkusen played with discipline and energy after that and didn't allow some fierce challenges to unsettle them. Patrik Schick made it 2-0 in the 86th minute, and Said El Mala's goal in stoppage time for Köln proved nothing more than consolation. Jonas Hofmann crowned the derby win with his 100th appearance for the club.
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