The final UEFA Nations League matches of the year have been played: The Czech Republic with Patrik Schick and Adam Hlozek faced Switzerland. While neither of the teams could climb above Spain and Portugal to the top of Group 2 in League A this game was about avoiding relegation to League B. Schick and Co. needed a win against Switzerland to overtake them – but they had to settle for a 2-1 defeat in the end. The Swiss went ahead with a double strike (29’, 30’) and the reply from Schick just before half-time was not enough in the race to stay in League A. The centre-forward played the full game and Hlozek remained on the bench.
Finland with goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky also ended their Nations League games on foreign soil: The Werkself captain, who led out the Eagle Owls as usual, was more successful with his fellow countryman in Montenegro than his Czech teammates. On matchday six in Group 3 in League B, Hradecky and Co. won 2-0 with a brace after the restart to replace Montenegro in second place.
Edmond Tapsoba with Burkina Faso and Odilon Kossounou with the Ivory Coast ended the international break with friendly fixtures. Tapsoba and Co. beat Comoros 2-1 with the Bayer 04 defender playing the full 90 minutes in his international appearance number 31. Kossounou did not play in the 3-1 win for the Ivory Coast against Guinea.
Sardar Azmoun and his fellow Iranian countrymen played Senegal in a friendly in Austria. Senegal took the lead on 55 minutes. The Bayer 04 forward came off the bench four minutes later and Azmoun levelled the scores at 1-1 five minutes after that.
The friendly between Japan and Ecuador ended goalless. Werkself defender Piero Hincapie played the whole game at the Merkur Spiel Arena in Düsseldorf.
The Netherlands U21 team with Jeremie Frimpong and Mitchel Bakker in the starting line-up only managed a 0-0 draw against Romania. Both Leverkusen players were on for the first half.
Zidan Sertdemir and the Denmark U19s lost 4-2 to England in the Euro qualifiers. The Werkself player went off at half-time with the score at 0-0. Denmark are second in Group 9 behind England.
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Bayern Munich come to the BayArena this Saturday with an 11-point lead in the Bundesliga as they look to take a step closer to the title. As imperious as they may seem, a weakness has emerged of late that the Werkself proved they can exploit in Wednesday’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal in the Champions League. Leverkusen are also looking to make it four Bundesliga home games unbeaten against the Bavarians. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the 15:30 CET kick-off in our matchday news.
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Another home game, another top opponent - another marker? Three days after their convincing performance in the 1-1 draw with Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg, Bayer 04 continue their Bundesliga campaign with an equally high-calibre fixture. Matchday 26 sees league leaders Bayern Munich visit the sold-out BayArena. Ahead of the clash, head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about a comparison between Arsenal and the Bavarians, Bayern's high-scoring performance in Europe's premier club competition and a return to the squad for one Werkself player.
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High spirits and previously untold stories: Around 100 Bayer 04 fans packed the Schwadbud fan pub in the east stand of the BayArena on Thursday evening to be there in person for the first instalment of the new series of events entitled “Rudi lädt ein” (Rudi invites you). They listened intently as long-serving Werkself players Gonzalo Castro and Stefan Kießling chatted with record appearance-maker Rüdiger Vollborn and presenter and stadium announcer Tobias Ufer about their many years together at the club, shared amusing anecdotes and revealed dressing room secrets. Anyone who missed the premiere can already look forward to the second instalment – on 12 May, Rudi will be testing the expert knowledge of Bayer 04 fans during a quiz night.
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They're well on their way to becoming German champions for the 35th time and once again proved their incredible class in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday. This Saturday, 14 March (kick-off: 15.30 CET), Bayern Munich will be the visitors to the BayArena. It'll be a meeting of the two Bundesliga teams with the most dominant styles of play. A look at our opponents shows the visitors from the Bavarian capital have many strengths - but are also vulnerable.
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Sofie Zdebel is up for the Goal of the Month award for February on ARD-Sportschau. Fans have until 21 March (19:00 CET) to vote for the Germany U23 international's volley to make it 2-0 in the Bayer 04 Women's derby against FC Köln (2-1).
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