The Werkself line-up is unchanged from the defeat in Dortmund. The two defences are dominant for long stretches of the game with safety first the byword from the kick-off. Christian Wörns nets the opener on 36 minutes, which forces MSV Duisburg to be more adventurous in the second half. Bayer 04 are unable to exploit the space on offer and the match ends in a deserved 1-0 win and third place in the table behind FC Bayern and Borussia Dortmund.
Everything’s set up. Sunday 24 February 2002, 17.30 CET, the floodlights are on for the top of the table clash on matchday 24 between second-placed Bayer 04 and league leaders Borussia Dortmund. The BayArena is sold out with a capacity crowd of 22,500 and all of Leverkusen wants to go top. After an impressive start by the visitors and a goal from the Brazilian player Ewerthon unjustly ruled out, the team under coach Klaus Toppmöller wake up. The Werkself miss chance after chance but go 1-0 up on 32 minutes with a goal from Michael Ballack.






The Yellow and Blacks are unable to withstand the Bayer 04 attacks in the second half. With goals from Carsten Ramelow, Oliver Neuville and Dimitar Berbatov, Bayer 04 deservedly seal a 4-0 win and go top of the table. HERE is the footage.

Francoaldo Sena de Souza, known as Franca, was born on 2 March 1976 in Codó in north-eastern Brazil and is one of the best-known Brazilian football players of the late 1990s and early 2000s. His exceptional talent became apparent early on. He began his career at smaller Brazilian clubs before moving to the tradition-steeped São Paulo FC in 1996. There, Franca quickly developed into one of the most dangerous strikers in the league. His technique, goal-scoring instinct and agility delighted fans and pundits alike, and he scored numerous goals for the club over the years.
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Lars Bender was born on 27 April 1989 in Rosenheim and grew up with his twin brother Sven in a football-loving family. They began playing football in Brannenburg, a small community near Rosenheim. The twins joined Unterhaching to play for the U11 side, followed by a move to the U14s at 1860 Munich. There, Lars and Sven became German champions with the U17s, skipped the Lion's U19s and were directly part of the 1860 Munich first and second team squads.
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In this video you can see impressive and important goals in Bayer 04 history from the month of March . It's not always about the beauty of the goals, but also a reminder of special games and players.
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Bayer 04 had their backs to the wall after a 3-1 defeat in a rearranged match at FC Kaiserslautern on 17 March 1981. After a throw-in, which the linesman clearly indicated in favour of the Werkself, but which the Lauter team quickly took and the weak referee did not intervene, a dubious penalty was awarded. Lauter took advantage of this to make it 2-1 in the 84th minute. Finally, a shot by the home side, which did not cross the line, made it 3-1 and Bayer 04 had to go home from Betzenberg without any points.
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It was 4 March 1951 and Bayer 04 were five points ahead going into the decisive home game against second-placed SSV Wuppertal, who would merge with TSG Vohwinkel 80 to form Wuppertaler SV three years later. Bayer 04 press officer Heinz Nelles predicted a big matchday at the sports ground at the Stadtpark and recommends Bayer 04 fans to buy their tickets in advance from the usual ticket outlets, especially from Peter Haas at the Trinkhalle Rathaus. After a four-week injury lay-off, centre-forward Emil ‘Bubi’ Becks will be back for the first time. And when the gates to the Stadtpark are opened on Sunday, the spectators stream into the stadium. The windows of the houses on the neighbouring Walter-Nernst-Straße are also packed.
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