"Bayer 04 Leverkusen had a phenomenal season and exceeded their own expectations by winning the league title and the DFB Pokal. That success is the result of hard work, great passion and genuine team spirit," said Minister President Hendrik Wüst. "We are proud that we have a club from North Rhine Westphalia at the top of the Bundesliga again after a long time. Leverkusen not only brought the title to North Rhine Westphalia but also showed what can be achieved with stamina and cohesion. Therefore I would like to sincerely congratulate the team and the whole club."
Fernando Carro, Bayer 04 CEO: "We felt very honoured to receive the invitation from the Minister-President and we immediately accepted it with pleasure. We are very happy to have brought the Meisterschale back to the sporting state of North Rhine Westphalia for the first time in twelve years. We would like to thank everybody who supported us during that unforgettable time."
In the presence of the NRW Interior Minister Herbert Reul, a season card holder at Bayer 04 for many years, Carro presented Minister-President Wüst with a signed champions jersey following a group photo.
Amongst other guests were Peter Frymuth (President of the Western German Football Association), Marc Adomat (City manager in Leverkusen), Nathanael Liminski (Head of the state chancellery), Dr. Thomas Wilk (District president of Cologne) and Anke Feller (Deputy chair of the NRW sports foundation).
The fixture details for the Round of 16 ties in the 2025/26 DFB Pokal have been finalised. Accordingly, Bayer 04's away match at Borussia Dortmund will be played on Tuesday, 2 December, at 21:00 CET. This was announced by the German Football Association (DFB) today (Thursday).
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Bayer 04 picked up their first three points in the current Champions League campaign on matchday 4 in the league phase with a courageous and determined display in a 1-0 win at Benfica (1:0). "It was a hugely important win," said coach Kasper Hjulmand after the game, paying tribute to his players for their battling performance right to the end. The Werkself defended resolutely right to the end and kept out off shot after shot. Keeper Mark Flekken said: "We were determined to get these three points and gave everything we had on the pitch!" Read on for more reaction plus the facts and stats on the away win at the Portuguese record champions in the Werkself review.
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The second European away game takes the Werkself to the Portuguese capital Lisbon. Kasper Hjulmand's team will face record champions Benfica on Wednesday, 5 November (kick-off: 20:00 GMT, 21:00 CET) on matchday 4 in the league phase of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League. As usual, we will take you along on the #aCROSSeurope journey and report from Lisbon. The times given are Central European Time.
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Werkself TV shows highlights of the 1-0 win for Bayer 04 at Benfica on matchday 4 in the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 league phase...
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The Werkself beat Benfica 1-0 on Matchday 4 of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League league phase to seal three crucial points! Both teams had promising chances in the first half, but the contest was goalless at half-time. Substitute Patrik Schick headed in to score the only goal after the restart (65’). The home side went looking for an equaliser but Bayer 04 defended passionately to see out the storm.
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