With the aim of giving his players as much time on the pitch as possible in the double matchday against Sittard and the Belgian first division team KAS Eupen, Peter Bosz split his Werkself squad into two teams with U19 players making up the numbers. Team 1, who faced the Dutch side, was skippered by Kai Havertz – and the two new signings Kerem Demirbay and Moussa Diaby alsohad the chance to show what they could do in the opening game in front of 1,000 fans at the Kurtekotten Academy.
While the Werkself, for the first time in their new red home kit, tried to follow the specific instructions of the coaching staff against the Fortuna Sittard team coached by Sjors Ultee, the Dutch side applied pressure from the start, frustrated the Black and Red attacks and were wide-awake when the Werkself passing game broke down.
It took 20 minutes before the Werkself looked dangerous in front of the opposition goal: The visitors' keeper Alexei Koselev pulled off an excellent reflex save to deny Lucas Alario and the ensuing corner from Kerem Demirbay saw youth player Kevin Bukusu hit the post with his effort (22') – and the follow-up shot from Wendell failed to find the target. A few minutes later, Demirbay was in a good position but his shot went over the bar (24'). Six minutes later, the visitors scored the only goal of the game – with a suspicion of offside, Sittard's Rasmus Karjalainen converted the rebound.
After the restart, the Werkself pressed in search of an equaliser but the best opportunity was ruled out by referee Nico Fuchs due to a disputed offside: Moussa Diaby made the most of his pace and ended by putting the ball into the back of the Dutch net – but the strike did not count (58'). Peter Bosz brought on the youngsters in the closing stages – with the exception of goalkeeper Niklas Lomb there were no first-team players on the pitch. The U19 players did well and created some good chances – but they were unable to beat the Sittard keeper Koselev. The match ended in a 1-0 defeat for the Werkself.
Bayer 04: Lomb – Retsos (Gaedicke 75'), Dragovic (Fünger 60'), Bukusu (Rüth 60'), Wendell (Kemper 75’) – Stanilewicz (Anapak 75’), Demirbay (Türkmen 75’) – Bellarabi (Sarpei 75’), Havertz (Wolf 60'), Diaby (Schlößer 75’) – Alario (Fesenmeyer 75’)
Bayer 04 have ended Artem Stepanov’s loan deal at Nürnberg and agreed a new loan to Utrecht in the Netherlands. The Ukrainian striker did not play as much as hoped for at the Bundesliga 2 club and will now continue his development in the Eredivisie for the rest of 2025/26.
Show more
The draw for the knockout play-offs of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League was made on Friday, 30 January and saw Bayer 04 paired with Olympiacos. It’s a reunion with the Greek side following the Werkself’s 2-0 loss in Athens on Matchday 7 of the league phase.
Show more
Kasper Hjulmand has led the Werkself back to winning ways and is back in the knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League with Bayer 04 after the 3-0 win against Villarreal on Wednesday evening. In an interview with the Werkself magazine at the BayArena in the team meeting room, directly opposite the dressing room, he provided some special insights for the current issue, which was published in January. A conversation with the 53-year-old coach about values, attitudes and personal experiences as well as interests outside of football.
Show more
Following on from the emotional last-minute win at Union Berlin, the Bayer 04 Women now face a promoted team: On Saturday, 31 January (12:00 CET), coach Roberto Pätzold's team welcome FC Nürnberg to the Ulrich Haberland Stadium for their first home game of the new year. In their second season in the Bundesliga, the Franconians have impressed with 16 points from the first 15 games.
Show more
