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.
Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 1-3 loss against Werder Bremen on the 26th matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2025/26.
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Bayer 04 Women have finished in fifth place after the best Bundesliga season in the club's history in terms of points. Roberto Pätzold's side went down 3-1 at home to SV Werder Bremen on the final matchday. With 46 points and 15 wins, they've bettered the previous record campaign of 2024/25. Despite periods of pressure, Cornelia Kramer's 73rd-minute strike was not enough at the Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion, and the Werkself miss out on European qualification despite a strong end to the season.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have agreed a conract extension with home-grown talent Sofie Zdebel by a further year ahead of schedule. The 21-year-old Germany U23 international will stay at the club until 30 June 2028.
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After the final whistle in the home match against Hamburger SV, it showed once again that the Bayer 04 community sticks together. The team thanked the fans for their great support in a season with highs and lows and a sixth-place finish in the Bundesliga. The Black and Reds will compete in the UEFA Europa League next season. The last Werkself review in 2025/26 has all the analysis.
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