18.07.2026Bayer 04

Moreira nets brace in 7-0 win over SF Baumberg in opening friendly

Bayer 04 turned in a dominant performance in a 7-0 win against fifth-tier side Sportfreunde Baumberg in their first friendly ahead of the 2026/27 season. A brace from debutant Afonso Moreira (19', 27') either side of a Christian Kofane strike (23') put the Werkself 3-0 up in the first of the two 35-minute halves in Monheim am Rhein. After the break, Victor Boniface (49', 53'), Robert Andrich (56') and Nathan Tella (67') scored for the completely changed Leverkusen team. It was therefore a successful friendly debut for new head coach Carles Martínez and his team, although the hosts also had something to celebrate despite the defeat: the match marked the inauguration of Baumberg's new ground, the MEGA Stadion.

Martínez set up his first starting line-up as Bayer 04 boss in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with the experienced Edmond Tapsoba partnering youngster Axel Tape in the centre of defence. In front of them, Aleix Garcia and loan returnee Noah Mbamba occupied the midfield. The players involved in the World Cup did not take part, as well as new signing Kennet Eichhorn, who was absent with a minor infection.

Moreira at the double on debut

The other summer signing, Afonso Moreira, made his first appearance in a Werkself shirt on the left flank, where the Portuguese not only impressed with his dribbling but also opened the scoring with a header on 19 minutes. The assist came from Arthur with a cross from the right, as it did three minutes later for the second goal by Christian Kofane. Goal number three for the overwhelmingly superior Werkself came from the lively Moreira again in the 27th minute, although he was denied a hat-trick by a good save from Baumberg goalkeeper Hannes Kramp three minutes later.

boniface also bags brace

With a completely different team, the Werkself continued to dominate after the restart. Nathan Tella's attempted lob was saved in the 47th minute, but Victor Boniface soon netted the fourth goal from Farid Alfa-Ruprecht's pass (49') and then the fifth following an almost identical move (53'). Robert Andrich made it 6-0 with a well-placed shot from distance three minutes later, before the industrious Tella wrapped up the 7-0 victory shortly before the end of the 70-minute contest.

coming up: open training before friendly in Offenbach

Next Saturday, 25 July, the Werkself visit Kickers Offenbach for their next friendly. Kick-off between the two clubs, who have been connected by a close fan friendship for many years, is at 15:00 CEST. Before that, the training ground at the BayArena opens its doors on Tuesday morning, 21 July, for an open training session. Bayer 04 fans can watch the session up close from 11:00 CEST - more information to follow.

Match stats:

SF Baumberg: Kramp (Calik 36') – Turay, Akaogi (Vila 36'), Yineoglu, Aschenbroich (Sitter 36') – Hölscher, Er (Burovac 36') – Knetsch (Carratala-Jimenez 36'), Hömig, Osawe – Neuhäuser (Yamashita 36')

Bayer 04: Blaswich (Lomb 36') - Arthur (Vázquez 36'), Tape (Badé 36'), Tapsoba (Oermann 36'), Belocian (Faye 36') - Mbamba (Andrich 36'), Garcia (Fernández 36') - Poku (Tella 36'), Hofmann (Alfa-Ruprecht 36'), Moreira (Kir 36') - Kofane (Boniface 36')

Goals: 0-1 Moreira (19'), 0-2 Kofane (23'), 0-3 Moreira (27'), 0-4 Boniface (49'), 0-5 Boniface (53'), 0-6 Andrich (56'), 0-7 Tella (67')

Referee: Marvin Konopatzki (Kleve)

Crowd: 1,800 at MEGA Stadion

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