Keeper Hradecky was between the sticks for Finland in the Nations League – and he was able to help secure a 1-0 victory against Ireland with his teammates. Finland are second in the table in League B, Group 4 behind Wales (10 points) with nine points from four matches.
Austria also won 1-0 in their Nations League game against Romania. Aleksandar Dragovic went the full distance, captain Julian Baumgartlinger was substituted on 76 minutes. Austria lead Group 1 in League B after four games with nine points level with Norway.
Without Tin Jedvaj, who was not in the squad for Croatia’s last game of international break due to illness, the Nations League provided a rerun of the 2018 World Cup final between Croatia and World Cup winners France – and the French team again ran out winners. After the 2-1 defeat, Croatia are third in League A, Group 3 on three points behind Portugal and France (both 10 points).
While the three stragglers named above set off for Leverkusen on Thursday to join the team on Friday, the morning training session saw returnees Jonathan Tah, Edmond Tapsoba, Moussa Diaby and Lennart Grill join the Werkself players left at home in focusing on Saturday’s game against FSV Mainz 05.
In the Euro qualifier for the Germany U21s against Bosnia-Herzegovina on Tuesday night, Florian Wirtz had to come off on 26 minutes due to a stomach muscle problem. All-clear: An MRI scan yesterday revealed no structural injury to his stomach muscles. At the press conference ahead of the Mainz game, head coach Peter Bosz announced that Wirtz is recovering but probably will not be available for Saturday.
Santiago Arias got in touch via his social media channels with a photo from the aeroplane from Colombia to Spain and he thanked his fans for their support and get-well wishes. The right back will undergo an operation by a specialist on Thursday. The 28-year-old suffered a broken leg and further complex ligament damage in his ankle playing in a World Cup qualifier with Colombia against Venezuela.
At the start of the week, Leverkusen was classified as a risk area – and the region in and around Mainz is also affected by an increased number of coronavirus infections, which also has an effect on the Bundesliga away game for the Werkself at FSV Mainz 05 on Saturday 17 October (15.30 CEST). Instead of playing in front of 6,800 fans, as originally planned and approved, the match at the Opel Arena will now be played in front of 250 spectators.
Welcome to the Bayer 04 family, little Victoria! Patrik Schick and his wife Hana became parents of a daughter on 9 October. The 24-year-old celebrated his joy with his fans at the start of the week on Instagram and wrote that mother and child are both doing well. Congratulations!
As part of the Virtual Bundesliga, the VBL Club Championship starts the new 2020/21 season on 10 November. In its third season, the competition has a new tournament mode which takes account of the increased number of participants and promises even greater excitement. The range of participants will be organised geographically into the North and West division and the South and East division each with 12 clubs. In each division, all clubs play each other home and away. The Bayer 04 eSports team, made up of Kai ‘DETO’ Wollin and Fabian ‘B04_DUBZJE’ de Cae, is in the North and West division. From the final tables, the first and second place teams from both divisions will compete for the finals of the VBL CC. The clubs in places three to six of each division was also have the chance of qualifying for the finals via a knockout game.
Two lots of congratulations are in order on this Thursday. Congratulations go to our promotion coach Willibert Kremer who celebrates his 81st birthday. Kremer took Bayer 04 into the Bundesliga as coach in 1979. It is also the birthday of Niko Kovac, who made 96 appearances for Leverkusen from 1996 to 98. The Croat is 49 years old.
Bayern Munich come to the BayArena this Saturday with an 11-point lead in the Bundesliga as they look to take a step closer to the title. As imperious as they may seem, a weakness has emerged of late that the Werkself proved they can exploit in Wednesday’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal in the Champions League. Leverkusen are also looking to make it four Bundesliga home games unbeaten against the Bavarians. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the 15:30 CET kick-off in our matchday news.
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Another home game, another top opponent - another marker? Three days after their convincing performance in the 1-1 draw with Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg, Bayer 04 continue their Bundesliga campaign with an equally high-calibre fixture. Matchday 26 sees league leaders Bayern Munich visit the sold-out BayArena. Ahead of the clash, head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about a comparison between Arsenal and the Bavarians, Bayern's high-scoring performance in Europe's premier club competition and a return to the squad for one Werkself player.
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High spirits and previously untold stories: Around 100 Bayer 04 fans packed the Schwadbud fan pub in the east stand of the BayArena on Thursday evening to be there in person for the first instalment of the new series of events entitled “Rudi lädt ein” (Rudi invites you). They listened intently as long-serving Werkself players Gonzalo Castro and Stefan Kießling chatted with record appearance-maker Rüdiger Vollborn and presenter and stadium announcer Tobias Ufer about their many years together at the club, shared amusing anecdotes and revealed dressing room secrets. Anyone who missed the premiere can already look forward to the second instalment – on 12 May, Rudi will be testing the expert knowledge of Bayer 04 fans during a quiz night.
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The Bundesliga home game against VfL Wolfsburg in the first half of the season was one of those classic ‘days to forget’ for Bayer 04 Women. It started with goalkeeper Charlotte Voll being shown a red card in the first minute of the game, and following a further sending-off, coach Roberto Pätzold's 9-women side ended up losing 5-1 to last season's runners-up. At 18.30 CET on Sunday, they'll have the chance to exact revenge at the AOK Stadium - and pick up valuable points in the race for third place.
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They're well on their way to becoming German champions for the 35th time and once again proved their incredible class in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday. This Saturday, 14 March (kick-off: 15.30 CET), Bayern Munich will be the visitors to the BayArena. It'll be a meeting of the two Bundesliga teams with the most dominant styles of play. A look at our opponents shows the visitors from the Bavarian capital have many strengths - but are also vulnerable.
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