Lucas Alario has impressed Bayer 04 fans: In last weekend's home win against Augsburg, our number 13 scored a brilliant goal with a back-heel on 81 minutes. With an assist from Robert Andrich, The Argentinian forward put the ball through the legs of the FCA keeper Rafal Gikiewicz to make it 5-1 and his goal has been voted Goal of the Month for January, presented by like2drive. Congratulations. Alario's impressive feat can be seen again HERE.
Willibert Kremer, the coach of the Werkself side promoted in 1979, passed away on Christmas Eve last year at the age of 82. Invited guests paid their last respects to the legendary Bayer 04 coach this morning at the VIP marquee at SC Victoria Köln where Kremer was a player and later also coach. The Bayer 04 managing directors Fernando Carro and Rudi Völler were there along with former general manager Reiner Calmund and several players from the promotion team of 1979 who were coached by Kremer. Rest in peace, Willibert.
The Werkself wish many happy returns to three birthday boys from the Black and Red family today.
First up is Sidney Sam who is 34 today. The former winger made 124 appearances for the Werkself between 2010 and 2014 scoring 36 goals during his time at Leverkusen. The left-footer ended his playing career last summer after spells at FC Schalke 04, Darmstadt 98, VfL Bochum, SCR Altach (Austria) and Antalyaspor (Turkey). At the end of his career, Sam was a guest on the Werkself podcast. Episode number 39 with the Kiel-born player is available free of charge at any time on the usual podcast platforms.
Many happy returns also to Jurica Vranješ on his 42nd birthday. The former Croatia international joined Bayer 04 Leverkusen from his hometown club NK Osijek at the turn-of-the-century and in 2001 he was part of our #RoadToGlasgow team. Vranješ moved on to VfB Stuttgart after three years with the Black and Reds.
Bayer 04 also wish a happy birthday to Dominic Kohr who is 28 today. The holding midfielder played for the youth teams at Leverkusen from the age of 15 and went on to make 69 appearances for the senior side and 33 for the second team. The midfielder is currently at Mainz 05 on loan from Eintracht Frankfurt.
The Werkself need a win in their penultimate match of the season at RB Leipzig on Monday evening (18:00 CEST) to keep their hopes of third place alive until the final day. After Eintracht Frankfurt lost on Saturday, Roberto Pätzold's side can close the gap on their rivals to two points and leave it all to play for next Sunday.
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Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 1-3 loss at VfB Stuttgart on Matchday 33 of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season...
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Down to fifth from fourth place despite taking an early lead: in the head-to-head for a Champions League spot, Bayer 04 were 1-0 up at VfB Stuttgart with just a minute played thanks to an Aleix Garcia strike, but ultimately lost 3-1 (2-1) to the more determined hosts. It meant the Swabians leapfrogged the Werkself in the Bundesliga table on the penultimate matchday.
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Today sees Bayer 04 go head-to-head with their next direct rivals in the race for Champions League qualification (kick-off 15:30 CEST). Opponents Stuttgart are currently fifth in the table, level on points with the Werkself but one place below them due to a three-goal inferior goal difference. The Black and Reds' record at Bad Cannstatt tells a clearer story: they've not lost at VfB for over 16 years. One important factor in securing what would be three crucial points away from home is Leverkusen's strength on the counter-attack. Whilst Stuttgart are also extremely dangerous going forward, they will be without their captain. Today’s matchday news.
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