The players in Black and Red have already surpassed the goals return from last season after 21 matchdays: The Werkself have netted 54 times (last season: 53). Ten of those strikes from the team under head coach Gerardo Seoane came in the past two weeks – with five against FC Augsburg (5-1) and Borussia Dortmund (5-2).
"Confidence always plays a role," explained coach Seoane. And his players certainly have that at the moment: The team have clocked up three wins and one draw in 2022 – putting them top of the form table in the second half of the season. The 43-year-old boss primarily sees the reason for the upturn, after a brief drop in points just before Christmas (one point from three games), as the work in training over recent weeks.
Compared with the months in late autumn, where the Werkself consistently had a busy run of fixtures, Jonathan Tah and Co., have spent considerably more time on the training grounds at the BayArena since the start of the year. Seoane: "We’ve used these weeks to work on certain things – such as transition after winning the ball or learning certain runs. It's all a process and requires a lot of training." Training that is now paying off.
The Werkself are currently clearly top of the table in terms of converting chances: 54 goals from 367 shots provide an impressive rate of 14.7% (In second: BVB with 13.8%; In third: Bayern Munich with 11.6%).
Seoane and his fellow coaches have also fine-tuned the approach to defending. One really important element in the development for the Werkself in the defensive area are previous experiences – which were not always positive. The late 2-1 defeat at Freiburg or the 2-2 draw after leading 2-0 in the derby against FC Köln were "negative experiences at that moment." But Seoane has processed those games with his players in detail and worked out solutions together. The Swiss coach makes it clear: “We first have to go through situations like that to be able to draw conclusions for our game."
Less than a year ago, Kerim Alajbegovic moved from the Bayer 04 U19s to Austrian top-flight club FC Red Bull Salzburg. The forward’s development since then has been impressive. In 36 matches, including in the UEFA Europa League, the 18-year-old has scored 14 goals. In the summer, Alajbegovic, now a Bosnia international, will return to Leverkusen - and thus not only achieve the next milestone still early in his career, but also enrich the Werkself squad with his footballing versatility and determination.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended the contract with forward Nathan Tella ahead of schedule. The versatile 26-year-old, who can be deployed as a right winger, false nine or left winger, has penned a new contract to 30 June 2031. Tella joined the Werkself from Championship club Southampton in 2023. His previous contract ran to the summer of 2028.
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Nathan Tella has extended his contract with Bayer 04 to 2031. In an interview with Werkself TV, the 26-year-old talks about fulfilling his dreams, his positive outlook on life and his goals for the future. He answers the questions in English - all except the last one, which he addresses directly to the fans...
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In the final international break in the current 2025/26 campaign, Bayer 04 striker Patrik Schick with Czechia will be battling for a place at the World Cup. Meanwhile, national teams that have already qualified, include other Werkself players called up, are involved in friendlies in the build-up to the World Cup. Read on for an overview of the Leverkusen internationals and their match dates.
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The Werkself kicked off the final international break of the current season on Monday morning with the first of three open training sessions this week. While eleven Bayer 04 players will be away on international duty in the coming days, the other players will be working together in Leverkusen. The next challenge in the Bundesliga awaits on Saturday, 4 April (kick-off: 15:30 CEST) with the home game against VfL Wolfsburg.
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