While the five Bayer 04 players at the Euros all picked up three points for openers, the two Leverkusen players at the Copa América shared the points, the clash between Argentina with Exequiel Palacios and Chile with Charles Aránguiz ended all square at 1-1 after 90 minutes. Our number 25 came on for the Albiceleste on 68 minutes; Werkself captain Aránguiz went the full distance. The goals were scored by Lionel Messi (33') and the former Hoffenheim player Eduardo Vargas (57').
The next matches for the black and red duo take place this week: Chile play Bolivia on Friday, 18 June at 23.00 CEST, and Argentina take on Uruguay three hours later. The fifth team in Group A is Paraguay; four of the five teams from the two groups will go through.
Aleksandar Dragovic’s participation in Austria's opening match in the Euros against North Macedonia (3-1) ended at half-time. The central defender, who will play for Red Star Belgrade next season, suffered a cut from an elbow during the first half. As announced by the Austrian Football Association (ÖFB), the 30-year-old suffered a "double contused lateral wound to the right eye". Dragovic did have stitches but there was no sign of concussion according to ÖFB. Accordingly, he will now take part in individual recovery training.
Patrik Schick could hardly have had a better opening afternoon at the Euros. The 25-year-old Werkself centre-forward netted a brace for the Czech Republic in the 2-0 win against Scotland. Our number 14 first scored with his head and then with an incredible long-range shot from the halfway line – the unofficial title of the "best goal of the Euros" would appear to be heading his way. For anybody who missed it, you can see the goal again HERE. And anybody who has seen it: Just have a look at it again…
The victorious Leverkusen Euro quintet do not have much time to celebrate – the action continues almost straightaway. On Wednesday, 16 June (kick-off: 15.00 CEST), Finland with goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky and striker Joel Pohjanpalo take on Russia. The day after that, Dragovic and Julian Baumgartlinger are with Austria for the game against the Netherlands (kick-off: 21.00 CEST). Then on Friday there is a meeting between Schick's Czech Republic and Croatia (kick-off: 18.00 CEST). Good luck for the rest of the tournament, lads!
Away from the pitch to another very important social issue: blood donation. As part of the World Blood Donor Day, Bayer 04 are supporting the campaign #missingtype run by the German Red Cross (DRK). Join in, donate blood and save lives. Click HERE to register (in Germany).
Moreover: As the blood donation session at the BayArena last year was a complete success, Bayer 04 will again organise the event at the Werkself home ground – this year on 5 August. More information will be available over the course of the week at bayer04.de.
Finally, we have a very special auction for you: At United Charity you have the opportunity up to 27 June to bid for football boots worn and signed by Lars and Sven Bender. HERE is the auction for the boots worn by Lars, HERE for Sven's.
Bayer 04 and Olympiacos had only met twice before the current UEFA Champions campaign. After the encounter on Matchday 7 of this season’s league phase, the Werkself travel to face the Greek side for the second time in just four weeks for the knockout play-off first leg. The Black and Reds were dominant for large spells in mid-January but lost 2-0 after missing a number of presentable chances. The Werkself aim to do better on Wednesday night to “seize the chance for revenge,” as managing director sport Simon Rolfes put it. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game in our matchday news.
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A bitter end to the fifth showdown of the 2025/26 VBL Club Championship as the #B04eSports team failed to take any points in the three remaining matches of the preliminary online round of the fifth and final showdown, missing out on the offline round. They can no longer take points in the overall table. Bayer 04 slipped out on the top eight, so direct participation in the final event for the German Club Championship is no longer possible, with Bayer 04 having to contest the play-offs.
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A rematch in Athens: On Wednesday, 18 February (kick-off: 21:00 CET), the Werkself face Greek double winners Olympiacos for the second time this season at the Karaiskakis Stadium. After the encounter in the league phase, it's now time for the first leg of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League play-offs. Ahead of the game, head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about how his side will approach the clash, while captain Robert Andrich explained how the team will try to dampen the atmosphere in the stadium tomorrow.
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With the much-celebrated 2-1 derby win against 1. FC Köln, the Bayer 04 Women underlined their credentials as one of the top teams in the Bundesliga. Anyone wishing to support the Werkself in the stadium in the race for third place can now purchase tickets for the home match against FC Carl Zeiss Jena. Tickets are also still available for the upcoming clash against TSG Hoffenheim at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium on Sunday, 22 February. The latest information at a glance.
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Let's give it our all one more time! Today, Tuesday 17 February (live on the VBL Twitch channel from 18:00 CET), the #B04eSports team play the remaining three preliminary round matches of the fifth and final showdown of the VBL Club Championship 2025/26. The Leverkusen console pros go up against 1. FC Nürnberg, 1. FC Magdeburg and Bayern Munich, aiming to secure their place in the offline knockout round and pick up valuable points for the overall table and the battle to get into the final event for the German Club Championship. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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