The last meeting of the two teams is well remembered by everybody at Bayer 04. In the qualifying rounds for the Champions League in August 2015, the Werkself won 3-0 at the BayArena with goals from Hakan Calhanoglu, Admir Mehmedi and Karim Bellarabi. A 1-0 defeat in the second leg saw Bayer 04 progress to the group stage. An eminently important victory against a strong opponent who finished last season in third place in the Serie A just one point behind rivals AS Roma and ahead of clubs like Fiorentina, Napoli plus Inter and AC Milan – the best league finish since the second title win in the club's history in 2000.
At the turn-of-the-century, Lazio were a top European team with stars like Alessandro Nesta, Pavel Nedved and Juan Sebastián Verón under Sven-Göran Eriksson who went on to be the England manager. In 1999 they were the last team to win the European Cup Winners Cup. In the championship winning season came the first two matches between the 'Biancoceleste' and Bayer 04. The two clubs met in the group stage of the Champions League with the ties producing two 1-1 draws – the only two points dropped in the group stage by Lazio who went through to the quarter-finals.
Lazio in the Europa League
The team from the Italian capital are on the European stage again this season. Last season's fifth-place finish under coach Simone Inzaghi, younger brother of the Italian legend striker Filippo Inzaghi, are in the Europa League in 2017/18. Stars of the team include the sought after striker Keita Baldé, defender Stefan de Vrij and the two Brazilian midfielders Felipe Anderson and Lucas Leiva. The latter joined the club last week after ten years at Liverpool.
Fans of the Bundesliga will also be familiar with Ciro Immobile. The central striker, who played for Borussia Dortmund in 2014/2015, joined Lazio last summer to take over the arduous mantle from Miroslav Klose, who scored 63 goals for the Roman side between 2011 and 2016. Before the record goalscorer for Germany, who became a crowd favourite in the Eternal City, Thomas Hitzlsperger, Karl-Heinz Riedle and Thomas Doll all wore the shirt with the Lazio eagle on the chest.
Season launch with match against Celta Vigo
The Werkself head home directly after the final whistle in Grödig. The next and last friendly in the pre-season is against Spanish top-flight side Celta Vigo at the season launch at the BayArena on 5 August.
For the first match under head coach Kasper Hjulmand on Friday night, 12 September (kick-off: 20:30 CEST/live on Sky and WOW), the Werkself welcome an Eintracht Frankfurt side in impressive early form. The Eagles counter-attacking and clinical finishing have stood out in their previous wins this term. Important advice for all fans travelling to and from the match by train: There will be cancellations of S-Bahn services to and from Leverkusen Mitte in both directions. The latest information on tonight’s match.
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Premiere on the touchline: When the Werkself welcome Eintracht Frankfurt to the BayArena tomorrow, Friday 12 September, at 20.30 CEST, Kasper Hjulmand will make his debut as head coach of Bayer 04. Ahead of the clash on Bundesliga matchday 3 in 2025/26, the 53-year-old Dane spoke about his excitement ahead of his first game, the short preparation time and the strengths of his opponents.
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The next fixture dates for the Werkself in the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga have been finalised - and Bayer 04 will play on the same day of the week four times in a row. The German Football Association (DFB) announced the fixtures for matchdays 5 to 10 on Thursday afternoon.
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Eintracht Frankfurt have made a perfect start to the season: The 5-0 victory in the first round of the DFB Pokal at Oberliga club FV Engers 07 was followed by two impressive wins in the Bundesliga against Werder Bremen (4-1) and TSG Hoffenheim (3-1). This Friday, 12 September (kick-off: 20:30 CEST/live on Sky and WOW), the team from Frankfurt visit the BayArena. Not exactly their favourite venue. After all, the last time Eintracht scored in Leverkusen was over ten years ago. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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New Bayer 04 head coach Kasper Hjulmand led his first training session in Leverkusen on Wednesday afternoon starting intensive preparations with the Werkself for the Bundesliga home clash against Eintracht Frankfurt on Friday night, 12 September (kick-off: 20.30 CEST). A large number of players were back from international duty and a new summer signing joined his new teammates on the training ground for the first time...
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