After the runaway 5-1 victory over Mainz 05 in the Bundesliga on Friday night, Peter Bosz decided to give his players the weekend off. And that meant the Werkself only returned to work on Monday morning – that involved analysis of the Mainz match and a 90-minute session on the training ground. In wet and blustery conditions, the Black and Reds worked on passing, shooting and positional play. That was followed in the afternoon by the first preparations for the clash with team currently lying second in the top-flight in Russia.
Birthday boy Jonathan Tah was joined on the training ground by Julian Baumgartlinger. The 31-year-old Austrian suffered a broken nose in a challenge late-on at Mainz and he underwent an operation the next day. In spite of bruising under his left eye,the midfielder completed the full session just two days later. "In the positional play we put Baumi a bit more out on the flanks to keep him out of challenges," explained Bosz. A protective mask is due to be delivered to Leverkusen this afternoon and the Werkself number 15 is set to wear it for the next few games. It remains to be seen if Baumgartlinger will be in the line-up in Krasnodar. "We have to be prepared for a physical game in Krasnodar with lots of challenges. But I think he'll be able to travel."
Unlike the skipper Lars Bender, who again missed training due a thigh injury and he may well be ruled out for the first leg in the southern Russian city. Joel Pohjanpalo (rehab after ankle in jury) and Panagiotis Retsos are also sidelined. The latter was wearing his boots again on Monday afternoon on the road to recovery following a thigh injury – the 20-year-old completed a session on the training ground with the ball under medical supervision.
The working week for the Werkself players and coaches started with a photo session for the new team photo.Head coach Peter Bosz, his assistant Hendrie Krüzen and fitness coach Terry Peters were joined by youth player Jan Boller. The 18-year-old defender was in the Bayer 04 first team squad for the first time for the DFB Cup tie at Heidenheim.
Today, Tuesday 16 December (live on B04eSports Twitch channel from 18:00 CET), the Leverkusen eSports players face the final three matches of the online preliminary round of Showdown Three in the VBL Club Championship 2025/26. In addition to 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 and SV 07 Elversberg, they will play Fortuna Düsseldorf, who are still unbeaten in this third showdown. The lowdown on our next opponents.
Show more
Whether it's the Lions Club, Teens, Bayer 04 Club or Silver Lions - there was a lot going on again this year in all age-specific members' clubs. We look back on an eventful year with numerous events and many exclusive moments with the Werkself. We take a look at what the year 2025 had to offer for the members of the Bayer 04 Club...
Show more
Bayer 04 picked up three points in the last home game of the year with 2-0 win against 1. FC Köln on matchday 14. After a dominant first half with good chances, Martin Terrier, who came on as a substitute in the second half, produced a brilliant scorpion kick to make to 1-0 for the Werkself (66') before captain Robert Andrich rounded off the derby victory with a header six minutes later.
Show more
Bayer 04 host 1. FC Köln at the BayArena in the final home game of 2025 . Today’s match on Saturday, 13 December kicks off at 18:30.30 pm. The Werkself are looking for three points against 1. FC Köln, who are without a win in four games but they do have a shooting star in their ranks up front. The Bayer 04 Volunteering Award will be presented at the derby against the club from Cologne and another fan club will be honoured for many years of loyalty under the Cross. The matchday news.
Show more
