There were not as many plaudits as last week after the 4-0 victory over Borussia Mönchengladbach but the performances of the Werkself players in the 4-1 win at Augsburg were again recognised in the football media. Jonathan Tah and Moussa Diaby were in the BILD Zeitung Team of the Day. And sportschau.de named Florian Wirtz in their matchday eleven. The substitute came on for Paulinho on 65 minutes, set up Patrik Schick (75') for the goal at 3-1 before scoring himself six minutes later for the final scoreline of 4-1.
That was the seventh Bundesliga goal for our number 27. At the age of 18 years, three months and 25 days Wirtz is now the youngest player in history the Bundesliga to reach that number. He has taken over from the previous record holder Timo Werner.
Part of that success probably goes down to head coach Gerardo Seoane and his team. Because Wirtz had problems with his lower back at the start of the season, the youngster was taken after training for ten days. "It was worth it," said Seoane who also added: "Confidence also comes through a healthy body."
In addition, Patrik Schick was highly rated by Werkself fans. In the vote for Man of the Match, presented by our kit supplier JAKO, he came out on top with 44.4% ahead of Florian Wirtz (24.3%), Jeremie Frimpong (16.3%) and Kerem Demirbay (15%). Supporters cast their votes on the Bayer 04 Twitter account after the Augsburg match. Schick will be able to enjoy his success in the Rhineland. The striker was sent off in the World Cup qualifier against Wales in March 2021 and is therefore suspended. That is why the striker has not joined his national team.
Seven points from three games – that puts the Werkself second in the Bundesliga table. Bayer 04 have only started a season better twice in their Bundesliga history: 2003 and 2013 produced the maximum nine points from three matchdays. For Kerem Demirbay this snapshot is no coincidence: "We’re on the right track. We are a unit," declared the playmaker before adding: "Something is coming together."
The last few days have been action-packed for Leverkusen's new signing Amine Adli: The 21-year-old signed a five year contract with Bayer 04 on Thursday, he trained for the first time with the squad on Friday and on Saturday the offensive player made his Bundesliga debut against FC Augsburg. Adli came within a hair's breadth of scoring his first Bundesliga goal but the FCA keeper Rafael Gikiewicz and the right-hand post put that achievement back.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen wish Dragoslav Stepanovic and Karl-Heinz Zickel many happy returns. Stepanovic, Werkself coach from 1993 to 1995, is 73 years old today (Monday). Zickel, who wore the Black and Red shirt for three years (1964-1967), is celebrating his 79th birthday.
Video game producer Electronic Arts (EA) has announced the nominees for the Men's and Women's Team of the Year (TOTY) for EA Sports FC 26. With Patrik Schick and Alejandro Grimaldo for the men and Vanessa Fudalla for the women, there are three Bayer 04 players included. Fans of the Black-and-Reds can vote for each top XI of 2025 from now until 18:59 CET on Monday 12 January.
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The Werkself host Mainz at the BayArena on matchday 24 in the 2025/26 Bundesliga season. The match is on Saturday, 28 February, at 15:30 CET. Information on ticket sales.
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The long-standing successful collaboration between Bayer 04 and the transport service provider wupsi GmbH has been expanded: From January 2026, 100 wupsi bikes with Bayer 04 branding will be available for hire throughout the city of Leverkusen. They will complement the many existing offers and services that provide key support, especially for fans travelling to and from home matches at the BayArena.
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The Werkself are back! Following the two-week winter break, head coach Kasper Hjulmand's team began the new year with an open session on Sunday. After Robert Andrich and his teammates arrived in Leverkusen yesterday for the official check-in, they got back down to business a day later in front of around 1,200 fans at the Ulrich Haberland Stadion. The report from the Werkself's first session of 2026.
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