Florian Wirtz had an impressive season in 2021/22 before his torn cruciate in the derby against FC Köln in March. The reporters at the sports magazine Sportbild have named 19-year-old as the player of the season at the Werkself. The attacking midfielder has “finally developed into a leader on the pitch.” The Bayer 04 number 27 has underlined that the impression with numbers: Wirtz has been directly involved in 17 goals in 24 league games. The Germany international scored seven goals and provided ten assists. The right-footer scored or set up a goal at an average of every 104 minutes.
Another Bundesliga player previously at Leverkusen also impressed the Sportbild editors. Goalkeeper Marcel Lotka was named as player of the season at Hertha Berlin. The 20-year-old spent three years under the Bayer Cross from 2017 before signing for the second team at Hertha in the summer of 2020. Lotka made eight appearances at the start of the season and then went on to make his Bundesliga debut against SC Freiburg on matchday 24. The Poland U21 international has since become first choice in goal and has only missed one league game. The Duisburg-born keeper suffered a broken nose and concussion in the game against Borussia Dortmund last Saturday (14 May). It remains to be seen whether he will be available for tomorrow’s Bundesliga play-off against Hamburg SV (19 May).
Florian Wirtz had an impressive season in 2021/22 before his torn cruciate in the derby against FC Köln in March. The reporters at the sports magazine Sportbild have named 19-year-old as the player of the season at the Werkself. The attacking midfielder has “finally developed into a leader on the pitch.” The Bayer 04 number 27 has underlined that the impression with numbers: Wirtz has been directly involved in 17 goals in 24 league games. The Germany international scored seven goals and provided ten assists. The right-footer scored or set up a goal at an average of every 104 minutes.
Another Bundesliga player previously at Leverkusen also impressed the Sportbild editors. Goalkeeper Marcel Lotka was named as player of the season at Hertha Berlin. The 20-year-old spent three years under the Bayer Cross from 2017 before signing for the second team at Hertha in the summer of 2020. Lotka made eight appearances at the start of the season and then went on to make his Bundesliga debut against SC Freiburg on matchday 24. The Poland U21 international has since become first choice in goal and has only missed one league game. The Duisburg-born keeper suffered a broken nose and concussion in the game against Borussia Dortmund last Saturday (14 May). It remains to be seen whether he will be available for tomorrow’s Bundesliga play-off against Hamburg SV (19 May).
Bayer 04 are riding a wave of success on the European stage: After three wins from their first three games and as the only team yet to concede a goal, the Werkself sit second in the table in the group stage of the UEFA Europa League. With another three points in their first-ever competitive match against Olympique Marseille on Thursday night, 5 November (kick-off: 21:00 CET), Bayer 04 could leap to the top of the table. Meanwhile, the French side are riding the wave of a winning streak in Ligue 1, but are yet to pick up any points in the Europa League. For one Werkself player, Thursday night will mark a reunion with his former team-mates. Today’s matchday news.
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The Europa League campaign continues: Bayer 04 host Olympique Marseille at the BayArena on matchday four of the group stage on Thursday 5 November (kick-off: 21:00 CET). Ahead of the clash against the club from the French Mediterranean coast, head coach Carles Martínez spoke about the visitors’ form and had some good news regarding the squad. Former OM player Facundo Medina spoke, amongst other things, about the factors that will be crucial against his old club.
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The Bayer 04 Round of 16 tie in the 2026/27 DFB Pokal has been scheduled. The Werkself will host Bundesliga rivals RB Leipzig on Wednesday, 2 December, at 18:00 CET. That was announced by the German Football Association (DFB).
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Video game developer Electronic Arts (EA), in collaboration with the Bundesliga, has announced the six nominees for the Bundesliga Player of the Month award for October 2026 – and Bayer 04’s Ibrahim Maza is among them. Fans of the Black and Reds can vote from now until Sunday 8 November (23:59 CET).
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