Based on official Bundesliga match data, 40 players were picked out who have particularly impressed in the current season - eight of them part of the Werkself side who were crowned German champions last weekend!
The nominated players from the Bayer 04 squad are goalkeeper and captain Lukas Hradecky, defenders Jonathan Tah, Jeremie Frimpong and Alejandro Grimaldo, midfield trio Granit Xhaka, Exequiel Palacios and Florian Wirtz as well as striker Victor Boniface.
A jury will decide which Bundesliga players make the cut for the Team of the Season. This is comprised of - in line with the monthly Player of the Month and Rookie of the Month awards - firstly a panel of experts (30% weighting), to which the Bundesliga Legends Network and selected media partners belong. Alongside the expert panel, the fans also have a strong say in the vote (40%), with the remaining 30% coming from the team captains of the 18 Bundesliga clubs.
The top 11 players will become part of the Bundesliga Team of the Season presented by EA Sports and receive considerably enhanced stats in FIFA 23.
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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