Sven Jablonski is in charge of today’s game against SC Freiburg on Saturday 14 May (kick-off: 15.30 CEST/Stadium opens: 13.30 CEST). The 32-year-old referee has officiated nine games involving the Werkself to date. From a Black and Red perspective there have been six wins, one draw and two defeats. The first Bayer 04 game under Jablonski was a 4-0 win against Freiburg in September 2017.
His assistants today are Norbert Grudzinski and Sascha Thielert with Tobias Welz the VAR ref. Have a good game.
The Nordkurve12 fan club has stocked up and will be selling another 600 #FinallyRed shirts on matchday from 13.00 CEST. The shirts cost five euros each and are available in sizes M to 3 XL from the StadionEck.
Black and Red fans can read the latest information on the matchday in Werkself LIVE ahead of the kick-off against the team under head coach Christian Streich. The programme is available at the BayArena – or alternatively as a free online version.
Bayer 04’s revamped matchday magazine provides interesting facts and stats on the match. On the back of the print version for the game #B04SCF there is a poster marking the departure of sporting managing director Rudi Völler. Here is the e-paper.
Among the many guests at the sold-out BayArena will be Germany coach Hansi Flick and his assistant Danny Röhl. The German Football Association (DFB) announced on Friday that the 57-year-old coach will announce his squad for the forthcoming for Nations League matches on Thursday (19 May). Flick has recently included Werkself defender Jonathan Tah in his team.
Anybody unable to be at the BayArena today can tune in to Werkself Radio from 30 minutes before kick-off. There will also be live text updates on the match. Both the radio broadcast and the text commentary are available at bayer04.de as well as on the new Bayer 04-App – tune in if you can.
Last week the Werkself sealed a Champions League spot ahead of the final game of the season against Freiburg. Eleven years ago to the day things looked completely different: On matchday 34 in the 2010/11 season the team under the then coach Jupp Heynckes were away to SCF – and they sealed qualification for the Champions League with a 1-0 win thanks to a goal from Hanno Balitsch in second place behind Bayern Munich. For Bayer 04 it was the first Champions League campaign since the 2004/05 season. Heynckes returned to FC Bayern at the end of the season and he took his assistant coach Peter Hermann with him.
Bayer 04 congratulate Michael Rensing on his 38th birthday today. The former goalkeeper joined the Werkself from FC Köln in 2012 and he went on to make two appearances in goal for the Black and Reds in the Bundesliga. At the end of that season, the 6 foot 3 shot-stopper moved on to Fortuna Düsseldorf where he ended his playing career two years ago.
Following the international break, the Bayer 04 women’s team face their next head-to-head clash in the race for a top spot in the Bundesliga. In Saturday’s home match (14:00 CEST), the fourth-placed side host third-placed Eintracht Frankfurt at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. Head coach Roberto Pätzold is well aware of the great opportunity this presents for his team.
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Bayer 04 make their first trip to Poland for over 30 years as they face Lech Poznan on Matchday 2 of the league phase in the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League. The game kicks off at 18:45 CEST on Thursday, but the team will be preparing for the action on Wednesday with training, travel and pre-match press conferences. We’ll bring you all the latest news here…
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Bayer 04 remain unbeaten in the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League. After winning the opener against NK Celje, the Werkself followed that up on Thursday night with a 4–0 win away at the Polish champions Lech Poznan. Patrik Schick, who came on as a substitute early in the game, scored twice from the penalty spot, and Malik Tillman also found the back of the net before half-time. The second half was a more subdued affair, with Ibrahim Maza scoring late on to seal the final 4-0 scoreline.
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Since 2023, Bayer 04 has been organising regular free goalkeeping coach training sessions at the BayArena. As in previous years, the event attracted enormous interest in mid-October 2026. Around 140 participants – mostly goalkeeping coaches from the region, but also team and academy coaches as well as association staff – came to the Werkself stadium to gain expert knowledge on the subject of zonal marking. Through a theoretical keynote presentation and a practical session on the pitch, the participants gained insights into goalkeeping and goalkeeper training at Bayer 04.
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