Following the 3-1 win against Eintracht Frankfurt, head coach Hannes Wolf gave the Werkself the chance to take a breather. The day after the game, only a few players came to the BayArena for treatment and post-match work with everybody then having Monday off. On Tuesday it was back to the training ground. With the temperature a pleasant 16 degrees and clear blue skies, the players completed a 70-minute session that focused on practice matches and finishing.
Long-term absentees Santiago Arias, Julian Baumgartlinger, Lars Bender and Timothy Fosu-Mensah were joined by another trio: Sven Bender, Daley Sinkgraven and Charles Aránguiz. While Sven Bender already missed the home game against Eintracht Frankfurt due to an ankle problem, Sinkgraven had a twinge in his back so the Dutch full-back trained on his own.
The same applied to our captain: "Charly has been battling with an Achilles problem for a while. This week gives us a chance to rest him for a couple of days," said Hannes Wolf who firmly believes that Aránguiz will be available for the match in Bremen on Saturday, 8 May.
They are in the top ten of pairs of brothers with the most Bundesliga appearances and are known throughout the football world in Germany for their professionalism and reliability: Lars and Sven Bender. Born in Rosenheim, the duo have been together at Bayer 04 for four years. In their playing careers to date, they have clocked up an impressive 517 appearances in the top-flight. They celebrate their 32nd birthday today (Tuesday) and HERE is a birthday video from Bayer 04 TV. This will be their last as professional footballers as Lars and Sven announced they are retiring at the end of the season a few months ago.
On the event of the Bender twins birthday, Bayer 04 present a Werkself Memory game as a Bender special. Fans and followers of the Werkself can match pairs of photographs of Lars and Sven – and at the same time look back at plenty of emotional moments with the twins. Click HERE for the Werkself Memory game.
Lars and Sven are not known for their social media activity. Nevertheless, countless Werkself fans congratulated the two defensive stalwarts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Co. Messages included: "Happy birthday lads. Such great blokes like you are rare" or "You're simply brilliant!" We agree with that and say: Many happy returns and stay fit and healthy.
A thrilling final but with no reward: the Bayer 04 U19s lost 5-4 to 1. FC Köln in the final for the German championship. Sergi Runge's side went into a commanding lead through goals by Artem Stepanov and Jeremiah Mensah, but the visitors battled back and turned it into a 4-2 lead before half-time. Leverkusen then showed their own comeback qualities in the second period, with Francis Onyeka and Kerim Alajbegovic restoring partiy, but Luis Stapelmann snatched the winner for Köln late on.
Show moreThey had their hands full in the VAR centre in Cologne: eight goals were scored at the MEWA Arena on Saturday afternoon, but only four of them were allowed in the end as the Werkself and 1. FSV Mainz 05 closed the season with a 2-2 draw. It means Bayer 04 end the 2024/25 campaign as runners-up with 69 points, representing the fourth-best season in the club's history. What's more, the Werkself are now unbeaten away from home in two whole Bundesliga seasons, with their last away defeat coming exactly two years ago on Matchday 34 of the 2022/23 season at VfL Bochum. The Black-and-Reds can continue the record run next season - albeit without Alonso and Tah. Read what else the eventful final game for the head coach and the defensive leader had to offer in the Werkself Review.
Show moreWerkself-TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 2-2 draw at Mainz 05 on the 34th matchday of the Bundesliga 2024/25...
Show moreBayer 04’s final game of the 2024/25 Bundesliga season saw VAR drama and produced a new record for away results with a 2-2 draw in Mainz. The hosts had several goals ruled out before Paul Nebel put them ahead. Patrik Schick’s brace then turned things around in the second half before Jonathan Burkardt’s penalty levelled the game again. It means Leverkusen have now gone 34 away games without defeat in the Bundesliga, which no team has ever done before.
Show moreThe Werkself bring down the curtain on their 2024/25 Bundesliga campaign with a game away at Mainz on Saturday (kick-off: 3.30pm CEST). Here’s all you need to know ahead of the Matchday 34 meeting at the MEWA Arena.
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