After the squad trained on Monday afternoon, performance tests were on the agenda on Tuesday. It could be that a number of players were thinking of Thursday's friendly against MSV Duisburg. The game against the second division side is of increased relevance to Werkself players who have not played much recently according to head coach Heiko Herrlich.
For example that applies to Tin Jedvaj: The 21-year-old suffered a hairline shin fracture in training at the beginning of July. Even though the defender has been back in full training for several days he is still not up to speed with his team-mates due to missing the pre-season. "Tin is on the right track," said Herrlich who indicated the defender is likely to start against the Zebras.
Praise for Kiessling
Stefan Kießling will also be in the starting eleven on Thursday. In addition, "he should decide for himself how long he's on the pitch," declared Herrlich. "Stefan has trained well. Above all, his way of motivating and involving younger players impresses me." Herrlich made it clear that the situation for the club legend is not easy and that makes his exemplary performances in training even more impressive.
In addition to Jedvaj and Kießling, players like Vladlen Yurchenko, André Ramalho and Marlon Frey should also get time on the pitch. That gives them the opportunity to stake a claim for further appearances. In this respect, Heiko Herrlich places great value on a "winning mentality." He identified that in the last friendly against Fortuna Köln (4-0) but it was absent for most of the 2-1 defeat against VFL Bochum at the end of August as in other pre-season games. "I want to win every game. And the players should see it the same way," explained the Bayer 04 head coach.
Setback for Henrichs
Jonathan Tah (back problems) and Benjamin Henrichs will not be playing on Thursday. There were hopes at the weekend that the full-back would recover from his illness over the course of the week and then join the Germany U21 squad but the situation has now taken a turn for the worse. The 20-year-old is still struggling with a nasal infection and the doctors have banned him from any sporting activity until the end of the week. Heiko Herrlich is not expecting either of the players to return before the middle of next week.
The Werkself kicked off the final international break of the current season on Monday morning with the first of three open training sessions this week. While eleven Bayer 04 players will be away on international duty in the coming days, the other players will be working together in Leverkusen. The next challenge in the Bundesliga awaits on Saturday, 4 April (kick-off: 15:30 CEST) with the home game against VfL Wolfsburg.
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Due to maintenance work, the online shop and other digital services from Bayer 04 Leverkusen will be temporarily restricted or unavailable from Monday, 23 March (18:00 CET) to Thursday, 26 March. Bayer 04 will provide immediate updates via the club's official channels if the work is completed earlier than planned. The overview.
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Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 1-0 win against FC Carl Zeiss Jena on the 21th matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2025/26.
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Thanks to a masterstroke from Katharina Piljic, the Werkself secured their eleventh win of the season in the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga. On Sunday evening, coach Roberto Pätzold's team beat FC Carl Zeiss Jena 1-0. Midfielder Piljic scored the winning goal with a volley into the corner from the edge of the box (19’) in front of 633 spectators at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium - and ensured that Leverkusen moved up to fifth place in the table for at least one night with 34 points.
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Bayer 04 will have to make do without forward Martin Terrier in the next few weeks. The Frenchman sustained a muscle injury in his right hamstring in Saturday's 3-3 draw at Heidenheim in the Bundesliga.
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