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).
Construction work continues on the ‘Haus der Talente’ on Kurtekottenweg in Leverkusen, where 36 young elite athletes will find a new home from next summer. The building team from Temmink Bau, led by Thomas Wellers, are hard at work. Over the past few days, excavators, wheeled loaders and rollers have removed 2,500 cubic metres of soil to excavate the basement.
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Special events for a special match: Bayer 04 are offering fans a varied programme of events at tonight’s home game in the Google Pixel Women’s Bundesliga against German champions Bayern Munich (kick-off: 18:00 CEST). Alongside a number of interactive activities, events to mark the DFB Sustainability matchday are also planned around the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. Read on in the matchday news ahead of the clash with FC Bayern.
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Once again, two Fritz Walter Gold Medals are heading to Leverkusen: Bayer 04 new signing Kennet Eichhorn and Francis Onyeka, a product of the Werkself youth set-up, currently on loan at SV Elversberg, were honoured for their performances during the 2025/26 season. The DFB announced the awards on Monday, 14 September. The Fritz Walter Medal is the most prestigious individual award in German youth football.
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Following two close encounters against VfL Wolfsburg and away to TSG Hoffenheim, the Bayer 04 Women face another top side on Monday night. The Werkself host German double winners Bayern Munich at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium at 18:00 CEST to round off matchday 4 in the Google Pixel Women’s Bundesliga. Head coach Roberto Pätzold is counting on another spirited performance from his team.
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