While most of the squad completed a regeneration session, only the recovering players including Lars Bender trained at the BayArena. One of those can be very happy: Exequiel Palacios made his first start in the Bundesliga since matchday six last Saturday in the home game against Schalke 04 (2-1). The 22-year-old Argentinian played the full 90 minutes and made a decisive contribution to picking up three points on the first match under head coach Hannes Wolf.
Impressive: For 'Pala' it was the sixth win in his seventh Bundesliga match – plus one draw. Only two other players in the history of the Bundesliga of had more appearances since their debut without suffering a defeat: Former Bayer 04 player Bent Skammelsrud (01 to 04/1998) and Reto Ziegler of Hamburg SV. If the Werkself get a result against TSG Hoffenheim on Monday (kick-off: 20.30 CEST) and Palacios plays then he will join the leading duo.
Do a good turn and win: For several months, the Bayer 04 fan liaison team have been calling all Werkself fans to donate. Numerous projects have been helped financially during the coronavirus pandemic thanks to the campaign ‘Bayer 04-Fans helfen’ campaign. In April funds go to the Wildpark Reuschenberg Leverkusen.
The donation of at least five euros can easily be transferred by the end of the month to the support group for the Wildpark Reuschenberg. Either via PayPal or bank transfer. Account details:
Name: VR Bank eG Bergisch Gladbach-Leverkusen
IBAN: DE03 3706 2600 2801 0000 13
Reference: Spende Bayer 04-Fans helfen
Bayer 04 will raffle great Black and Red prizes amongst all people making donations on every Thursday in April. A Werkself shirt will be in the draw every week. To take part in the draw supporters just have to send proof of donation (e.g. screenshot) via email to fanbetreuung@bayer04.de. The winners will be announced on Thursdays on the Facebook page Bayer 04-Faninfos. Under #gemeinsamfürLEV let us support the animals and their keepers as best as possible. Further information on the Wildpark Reuschenberg is available HERE.
Hertha Berlin and goalkeeping coach Zsolt Petry parted company a few days ago. As his successor, Gábor Király has been mentioned. However, the former Werkself player (01/2009 to 06/2009) has rejected the offer due to other commitments. The 45-year-old has established projects in his home country of Hungary as discussed a few weeks ago in a podcast
Karim Bellarabi, one of the longest serving Werkself players, celebrates his 31st birthday on Thursday. The Berliner join Leverkusen from Eintracht Braunschweig in the 2011/12 season. In 253 appearances to date, the versatile winger has scored an impressive 53 goals and provided 61 assists in a Bayer 04 shirt.
In the 2-1 home win for the Werkself against Schalke 04 last weekend, He was able to make his first start in the Bundesliga since matchday three after being sidelined by injury (including a metacarpal fracture and a thigh injury).
Bayer 04 Leverkusen have agreed a loan deal with Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach for Argentinian striker Alejo Sarco. The 20-year-old joins Mönchengladbach with immediate effect for the rest of the season.
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The Werkself are away to Greek double winners Olympiacos on matchday 7 in the league phase of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League campaign. Tonight, 20 January (kick-off: 22:00 local time/21:00 CET), Bayer 04 will not only face a familiar face in Panagiotis Retsos, but also an experienced and successful team in their Greek top-flight opponents. The Olympiacos midfield and forward line in particular are peppered with seasoned veterans from top European clubs - but even they will first have to find solutions against the Werkself defence that has recently performed with aplomb in the UCL. The matchday news.
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The Werkself are away to Greek double winners Olympiacos on matchday 7 of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League league phase. Ahead of the clash on Tuesday, 20 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET), head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about anticipation for the game. Werkself player Ibrahim Maza also gave an insight into dealing with the recent setbacks.
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After their first win on matchday 6 in the UCL league phase, Olympiacos are still in with a good chance of reaching the play-offs in the UEFA Champions League. The 2024 UEFA Conference League winners will be looking to go one better in their home match against Bayer 04 this Tuesday, 20 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET), but their stop scorer is unavailable. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Panagiotis, known as Panos, Retsos wore the Bayer 04 jersey for three years. Including his loan spells, he was under contract with the Werkself for a total of four and a half years. "It's a very special club for me," said the 27-year-old, who returned to his boyhood club Olympiacos in 2022, in an interview with bayer04.de. The former Leverkusen man is now captain and a first choice for the Werkself's next opponents in the UEFA Champions League. Ahead of the clash on Tuesday night, 20 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET), Retsos talks about his fond memories of his time in Leverkusen and the imminent reunion with some of his former team-mates. He also talks about who brought him to Leverkusen and why he likes getting older.
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