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.
The European jersey has been launched, the UEL opponents have been drawn – and anticipation for the European campaign is running high. To mark the occasion, an autograph session was held on Friday afternoon, 28 August, at the Fanwelt with current Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and official club legend Paulo Sergio.
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After six and a half years, Exequiel Palacios is leaving the Bundesliga and moving from Bayer 04 to the Premier League. The Argentine, who as a Werkself player won the World Cup with his national team four years ago and finished as runners-up at this summer’s tournament, will play for newly promoted English side Ipswich Town with immediate effect. The 27-year-old, whose contract in Leverkusen was due to run until 30 June 2030, joined Bayer 04 in January 2020 as a promising young talent. He steadily developed into one of the best defensive midfielders in the German top flight.
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When Exequiel Palacios moved from the Argentinian club River Plate to Bayer Leverkusen on 1 January 2020, the then 21-year-old could not have imagined just how successful the next six and a half years would be for him. Pala, as he is known, had already won the Copa Libertadores – the most prestigious competition in South American club football – with River Plate. But there were still so many more trophies to come.
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To mark Exequiel Palacios’s departure, we’ve put together a compilation of the midfielder’s finest and most important goals from his six-and-a-half years at the club.
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