In addition to the goalkeepers Lukas Hradecky and Patrick Pentz, Amine Adli, Sardar Azmoun, Adam Hlozek, Exequiel Palacios, Edmond Tapsoba plus Florian Wirtz returned to Leverkusen after international duty. New signing Jonas Hofmann, who joined Bayer 04 at the start of the month from league rivals Borussia Mönchengladbach, also returned to BayArena. The arrival of the international players produced happy faces and friendly greetings.
While the majority of the Werkself squad started with a 90-minute session in the gym at 10.30 CEST, Hofmann and Co. completed performance checks at the Werkstatt, the Bayer 04 rehab and training centre at the BayArena. The international players went through familiar medical tests and examinations as well as a range of diagnostic tests to check coordination, mobility and stability.
Granit Xhaka, who completed his first training sessions with the Werkself last week, also went through the performance tests.
The first training session of the week came in the afternoon with the Germany international Hofmann and the other international players also taking part after completing the performance tests. It was the first training session with the Werkself for the 31-year-old midfielder.
Head coach Xabi Alonso focused on passing in tight spaces at the start of the week. After an hour it was all over for Hofmann and Co. Following the intensive session, the players were happy to sign autographs and pose for selfies with the many fans in attendance omce again. The remaining members of he Werkself squad finished the day with a practice match.
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The other open training sessions on Tuesday (10.30 CEST), Wednesday (10.00 CEST) and Thursday (10.30 CEST) will be followed on Friday 21 July by the first friendly of the preseason. The Werkself play second division SC Paderborn 07 at the IMS Arena in Velbert. The kick-off is at 17.30 CEST and the match will be shown on Werkself TV, the Bayer 04 app and the club's YouTube channel free of charge.
Two games – two wins: Bayer 04 have picked up maximum points from their two matches so far in the league phase of the UEFA Europa League. What's more, of their previous 14 UEL matches, Bayer 04 have lost just one. Away to OFI Crete, Carles Martínez’s side are looking to add another successful performance on the European stage to their string of impressive displays. The Greeks, for their part, have been waiting four matches for a win, but Leverkusen should be on their guard: OFI’s most recent victory came against a German side. Today's matchday news.
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