There is good news from the Copa América: Argentina with Werkself player Exequiel Palacios were able to celebrate progress to the quarter-finals of the South American competition early this morning. A goal from Papu Gómez, a brace from Lionel Messi and a fourth strike from Lautaro Martínez secured a comfortable 4-1 win for the ‘Albiceleste’ against Bolivia and put them top of Group A at the end of the group stage with ten points from four games. Palacios, who was on the pitch for 70 minutes, and his teammates will face Ecuador in the quarter-finals of the Copa on Sunday, 4 July (kick-off: 03.00 CEST). Werkself skipper Charles Aránguiz and the Chile team, who were not in action on the final matchday in the group stage, have also qualified for the last eight with a match against title holders Brazil the day before (kick-off: 02.00 CEST). Good luck, lads!
The setting for the first competitive match for the new Bayer 04 head coach Gerardo Seoane is taking shape. On Sunday, 4 July, the draw for the first round of the DFB Cup will be held on the ARD Sportschau (18.30 CEST). Who the Werkself will meet in the first round of the domestic cup competition is in the hands of former Bundesliga player and ARD pundit Thomas Broich who will draw the balls out of the two pots in the Sportschau studio on Sunday. The first round of the DFB Cup will be played on the first weekend in August (6-9 August).
From the national to the international cup competition: When the Black and Reds start the Europa League campaign for 2021/22, Leverkusen and the other 31 teams will see a rule that has been in effect for 56 years disappear from the UEFA rule book.
As announced by UEFA, away goals will no longer count in matches in the UEFA club competitions of the Champions League, Europa League and the Europa Conference League in determining who progresses to the next round. If scores are level after the two legs then extra time and, if necessary, penalties will decide whether Bayer 04 progress the next round of the European competition – regardless of how many goals are scored away from home.
The fact changes have been made to the rules, which were applied for over half a century, was explained by the UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin in a statement: "Although there was no unanimity of opinion, a lot of coaches, fans and others involved in football questioned its fairness (the away goals rule, ed) and advocated the abolition of rule."
Bayer 04 head coach Gerardo Seoane has received the thumbs up from a former colleague. Stéphane Chapuisat, a long-standing Bundesliga player and head scout at Seoane's former club Young Boys Bern, says the 42 year-old has outstanding qualities – particularly regarding the future attacking requirements of the Werkself: "He has a good, attacking playing philosophy and I think he has the players at Leverkusen to put into action," said Chapuisat about the Werkself head coach in an interview with dpa.
This Wednesday afternoon, the German Football Association (DFB) announced the exact kick-off times for Matchday 6 in the Google Pixel Women’s Bundesliga. According to the fixture list, the Bayer 04 Women’s home match against Werder Bremen will be played on Friday, 2 October, at 18:30 CEST.
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Just in time for the start of the school year, everyone was hard at work again at NaturGut Ophoven. For the 21st time, Bayer 04 have supported the annual ‘BioBrotbox’ campaign, which puts together a healthy breakfast for first-year primary school pupils in Leverkusen – and not only contributed 1,904 muesli bars but also plenty of enthusiasm too: Together with the U19 players Burak Kir and Clinton Wilson, Emily Wallrabenstein and Paulina Platner from the Women’s Bundesliga team helped with the packing. The latter was clearly delighted “that Bayer 04 are helping out with regional projects like this and showing their commitment to the local community”.
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A group of about 50 members of the Bayer 04 Football Academy São Paulo visited Leverkusen over the past few days, accompanied by Bayer 04 club legend Paulo Sergio and Luiz Felipe (managing director of academy in São Paulo) for a week full of football, encounters and very special insights. In addition to the Bundesliga away game in Elversberg and the home game against Union Berlin, the visit also featured a joint training session with the Bayer 04 Football Academy in Leverkusen and a tour of the Bayer AG facilities. The guests also gained special insights into the club and the world of Bayer 04.
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The men's clothing retailer LERROS will remain the official fashion and premium partner of Bayer 04 for the current season. As in the past, LERROS will provide the club's men's team, coaching staff and management with high-quality clothing for international trips.
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Loud cheers rang out five times at the BayArena on Saturday afternoon. Four of them were occasioned by the Bayer 04 fans celebrating the goals – some of which were beautifully worked – scored by a dominant Werkself, whilst the fifth eruption of black-and-red jubilation was prompted by the return of fans' favourite Moussa Diaby. “You can really feel the impact he had here,” said a delighted Managing Director Sports Simon Rolfes about the comeback afterwards. On the pitch, following the commanding 4–0 win over 1. FC Union Berlin, players, coaches and the media were in agreement: that was “the right response” (kicker magazine). The Werkself review of the first Bundesliga home game of the 2026/27 season.
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