"Ahead of the two games, the target of going through to the next stage of the Champions League appeared to be very difficult. Now we have at least a minimal chance," said the Werkself skipper Lars Bender after the final whistle. The 30-year-old declared: "Our aim has to be to get on the scoreboard relatively quickly and thereby put pressure on the other stadium." Lars means the Wanda Metropolitano where the rivals for second spot, Atletico Madrid, will be entertaining Lokomotiv Moscow. The Spaniards need a win to be certain of finishing above the Werkself.
To be in a position to look at the result of the game, Bayer 04 obviously need a win. "The chance is there and we want to use it," said head coach Peter Bosz. Rudi Völler, sporting managing director, added: "We’re on a run. We want to beat Juventus and produce a great performance."
The flight for the Old Lady will land at Cologne/Bonn Airport on Tuesday afternoon. Unusually: The final pre-match training session will already have taken place. The Juventus coach Sarri decided to complete it before starting the journey to Leverkusen. There will be a press conference at 18.45 CET with the Juve coach and one of his players.
The impressive performances of Charles Aránguiz and Lucas Alario in the game against Schalke on the last matchday have made an impression. The sports journal kicker named the Chilean playmaker and the DFL the Argentine central striker in their teams of the day. The Bild Zeitung and the ARD TV sportschau named both Werkself players. Just deserts as Bayer 04 sporting director Simon Rolfes underlined: "Lucas got on the end of lots of balls – an impressive performance from him. And Charly is a key member of our team and you saw that again."
On the second advent Sunday, the Bayer 04 referees got together for an event at the Lindner Hotel at the BayArena. After a welcome from the former Werkself player Jürgen Gelsdorf, the guest of honour Stefan Kießling talked about one or two encounters with different referees and that raised a number of laughs. Rahel Glombek, director of the referees section at Bayer 04, reported on the first meeting of the referees representatives from the Bundesliga that took place several weeks ago.
The most important message on this entertaining morning before moving on to the communal lunch: The volunteer referees will play an important role at Bayer 04 in the future. Do you want to become a referee at Bayer 04? Then register at info@bayer04.de.
The former Bayer 04 player Ioan Angelo Lupescu today celebrates his 51st birthday. The Rumania international with 74 caps signed for Leverkusen from Dynamo Bucharest after the 1990 World Cup and he went on to play for the Werkself for six years. In 1993, the defender was part of the team that won the DFB Cup. Twice at the World Cup, he made 230 appearances for the Black and Reds scoring three goals and providing 14 assists. Today Lupescu works for UEFA but he did not miss the chance to take part in the club anniversary '40 years Bundesliga under the Bayer Cross'. Bayer 04 wish Ioan a happy birthday.
Most of the games in the Virtual Bundesliga (VBL) are played on a Monday night. Only the live games are played on Thursdays – and this week the Bayer 04 e-sports players are on the free TV channel ProSieben Maxx. Kai ‘Deto’ Wollin and Fabian ‘B04_Dubzje’ de Cae play Hertha Berlin on the final matchday of 2019. It all kicks off at 22.15 CET.
A disciplined defensive performance in the second leg saw Bayer 04 prevail against Olympiacos in the play-offs of the UEFA Champions League 2025/26. Thanks to the 2-0 away win in the first leg, the goalless draw at home at the BayArena was enough to ensure progress to the next round. The Black and Reds kept their opponents away from their goal for the best part of 90 minutes.
Show more
Bayer 04 can go through to the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League for the ninth time tonight, 24 February (kick-off: 21:00 CET) and be in the top 16 clubs in Europe. A good omen: Leverkusen have progressed to the next round after winning the first leg in 20 of their 22 knockout rounds in European competitions to date. For their part, Greek record champions Olympiacos rested several players for last weekend’s league fixture ahead of the play-off second leg at the BayArena and will now do everything in their power to turn the tide with their usual aggressive and high pressing. The discussions on Werkself radio are likely to be just as intense as the battle on the pitch, with commentator Florian Bechholz welcoming honorary captain Stefan Kießling and goalkeeper Mark Flekken. Today’s matchday news.
Show more
With the advantage of the 2-0 first-leg win in the play-offs, the Werkself are looking to book their place in the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League at the sold-out BayArena. Ahead of the home game against Olympiacos on Tuesday, 24 February (kick-off: 21:00 CET), coach Kasper Hjulmand and goalkeeper Janis Blaswich spoke about the position ahead of the match, the visitors' strength at set-pieces and a personnel issue for the home side.
Show more
With a win in the Greek Super League last weekend, Olympiacos achieved success on the pitch ahead of the UEFA Champions League play-off second leg at Bayer 04 on Tuesday, 24 February (kick-off: 21:00 CET). Coach José Luis Mendilibar rested many of his regular starters.
Show more
