Bayer 04 will have to manage without Kerem Demirbay for another two games in the Europa League. The midfielder was shown a red card in the closing stages of the 4-0 home win against Real Betis early in November. UEFA confirmed the three-match ban on Tuesday evening. Demirbay will only be available to the Werkself for the second leg of the Round of 16 tie in March 2022 .
The 28-year-old will miss the last match in Group G against Ferencváros (9 December) as well as the Round of 16 first leg in the middle of March of next year. Bayer 04 are certain of finishing top of the group that means Demirbay and Co. will proceed straight to the last 16.
Sporting managing director Rudi Völler is in favour of using former players in support of VAR match officials. "I'm now of the opinion that a former player could possibly be helpful with his experiences in many situations," said the 61-year-old to Sport Bild. Völler played over 650 games at club level that included winning the champions league in 1993 with Olympique Marseille. The former world class striker won the World Cup with Germany in 1990 and played for the Werkself between 1994 and 1996.
The mood of Jeremie Frimpong and Amine Adli could hardly be better at the moment: The Bayer 04 youngsters have been in the starting line-up in the past five games – and played a considerable part in securing four wins and a draw. Adli won three points for the Werkself with his first Bundesliga goal in the 1-0 win against VfL Bochum. His teammate followed suit last weekend with his first goal in Germany's top-flight in a 3-1 victory at RB Leipzig.
Following the win against RB, the U21 international players Frimpong (Netherlands) and Adli (France) together watched Frimpong's celebration in the game in Leipzig – and they had a lot to laugh at. Click HERE for the video.
It was one of the crucial moments in the home game against Bochum: the sliding tackle from Jonathan Tah on Takuma Asano. The Bochum player was about to shoot from the penalty spot but our key defender arrived at the last minute to put in a sliding tackle to maintain the 1-0 lead. A really important and impressive move that deservedly won the award for Save of the Month for November powered by iLOQ. Congratulations, Jona! HERE is a video of the clearance made by our number 4.
1 December 1979 is firmly fixed in the Bayer 04 history books as an historic event happened on that Saturday afternoon at the Park Stadium in Gelsenkirchen: The Werkself were the visitors at the then seven-time German champions FC Schalke 04. Matchday 15 in the first Bundesliga season in the club's history finally brought the first away win in the top-flight away to the Royal Blues.
Peter Szech scored both goals in the 2-0 victory and he was the matchwinner for the team coached by Wilibert Kremer. That victory was exactly 42 years ago and since then there have been 235 other Bundesliga wins for the Black and Reds on the road to date. Here's to many more!
As a comparison: In the current season, the Werkself already had 04 wins from 13 games away from home and are still unbeaten away from the BayArena. Bayer 04 are currently top of the away form table with 15 points.
Full-back Julia Mickenhagen is leaving Bayer 04 Leverkusen at the end of the season to join Bundesliga newcomers VfB Stuttgart. The 21-year-old’s contract with the club expires on 30 June.
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Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 3-1 win at RB Leipzig on the 25th matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2025/26.
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The Werkself need a win in their penultimate match of the season at RB Leipzig on Monday evening (18:00 CEST) to keep their hopes of third place alive until the final day. After Eintracht Frankfurt lost on Saturday, Roberto Pätzold's side can close the gap on their rivals to two points and leave it all to play for next Sunday.
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Werkself fans from across the New York City area gathered Saturday morning at Smithfield Hall in Manhattan to cheer on Bayer 04 in the club’s crucial Bundesliga showdown against VfB Stuttgart given the match’s big implications.
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In the next head-to-head clash for the Champions League places at VfB Stuttgart, Bayer 04 failed to follow up their impressive 4-1 win at home to RB Leipzig from the week before. After Aleix Garcia gave the Werkself the lead with their fastest goal of the season, the Swabians turned the game around and won 3-1, knocking Leverkusen down into sixth place. It leaves them needing a win at home to Hamburger SV and other results to go their way on the final day of the 2025/26 campaign in order to reclaim fourth spot. The Werkself Review has all the analysis and reaction from all those involved in an eventful encounter with VfB.
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