AS Roma and Bayer 04 have played each other four times in Europe to date with a win for each team plus two draws. Both teams have scored at least one goal in every game. A total of 19 goals with an average of 4.8 per match. The Werkself last met AS Roma in November 2015 in a 3-2 defeat in the Champions League group stage.
The two head coaches of the semi-finalists share a common past: Bayer 04 coach Xabi Alonso was at Real Madrid from 2010 to 2013 under AS Roma’s current coach José Mourinho. During that period, Alonso made 151 appearances for Real Madrid and was the winner 108 times. No other Real Madrid player other than Cristiano Ronaldo (14,140 minutes) played more under Mourinho than Alonso (12,548).
Anyone unable to be at the game today: RTL are broadcasting the match in Germany on free TV with the programme beginning at 20.15 CEST. As usual, Werkself Radio is also available. The audio broadcast starts 30 minutes before kick-off with commentary provided by Cedric Pick and Niko Hartmann. You can also keep up-to-date via live text commentary to ensure you don’t miss any of the action. Both Werkself Radio and the live text update service are available at bayer04.de and on the Bayer 04 app.
UEFA has appointed Michael Oliver as the match referee. The 38-year-old Englishman has previously been in charge of three games involving the Werkself with the Black and Reds winning all three: 1-0 at Rosenborg BK (Europa League 2012/13), 2-0 at Lokomotiv Moscow (Champions League 2019/20) and 2-0 against Atlético Madrid (Champions League 2022/23). He is assisted by his fellow countrymen Stuart Burt and Lee Betts, with Stuart Attwell– also from England – in action as the VAR official.
Like Bayer 04, AS Roma did not do well in their last match before the semi-final first leg. The Giallorossi lost 2-0 to Inter Milan at the weekend with goals scored by Federico Dimarco and Romelu Lukaku. It was a defeat that represents a severe setback in the race for a Champions League finish in Serie A for the team under coach José Mourinho. Nevertheless, the cult manager did not want to criticise his players. On the contrary, at the post-match press conference Mourinho said: “I’m incredibly proud of my lads. We played against the strongest team in Italy today, against a team who are in the semi-finals of the Champions League. It’s great to see that we weren’t inferior to Inter. The score was 2-0 because they didn’t miss anything in front of goal but we did. But we carry out on, it’s not over yet.” The info on personnel, performers and problems for AS Roma can be found in our lowdown on the next opponents.
Kicking off the new season with a fresh look: Bayer 04, in collaboration with sportswear manufacturer New Balance, has unveiled the official kit for Leverkusen’s e-Sports players for the coming season. The jersey is now available from the Bayer 04 online shop and the Fanwelt.
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Paulo Sergio and Bayer 04 have enjoyed close ties since the Werkself training camp in his native Brazil last summer. The club legend is in charge of the Bayer 04 Soccer Academy, which opened in the summer of 2025, and he has also been at this year’s training camp in the Weimarer Land. As well as interacting with the many fans who travelled to the camp, the 1994 World Cup winner used the time to plan the next steps for the Academy together with club officials. In an interview with bayer04.de, Sergio spoke about the project’s future development, the upcoming visit by young Academy players to Leverkusen, and plans for the coming months in Germany and Brazil.
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A round-up of the Werkself training camp in the Weimarer Land, all in one place: in our daily blog you’ll find all the insights and updates from the day. Day five (Thursday 6 August) is as follows: The squad have the final open session of the training camp in the morning. After lunch, there will be a team event.
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A round-up of the Werkself training camp in the Weimarer Land, all in one place: in our daily blog you’ll find all the insights and updates from the day. Day four (Wednesday 5 August) is all about training. The day begins with a gruelling open training session – new signing Miguel Gutiérrez also takes part. A second session follows in the afternoon, this time behind closed doors.
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At the training camp in the Weimarer Land region, Bayer 04 head coach Carles Martínez and his long-standing assistant Pol García talk about their first few weeks with the Werkself, their expectations of their own work, the coaching staff and the squad, as well as the style of football they want the team to play. They emphasise the importance of a winning mentality within the team, comment on cultural and personal differences in the world of football, and outline their goals for the coming season...
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