Paulinho and Co. played the Paraguay U23 side on Saturday 1 February as part of the fourth and final matchday in Group B. The Bayer 04 forward came off the bench on 68 minutes and made it 1-1 seven minutes later. The 19-year-old led the way for his team to win 2-1 with central striker Pepe (Gremio Porto Alegre) scoring the winner on 89 minutes.
The Brazilian youngsters picked up maximum points and the Argentina U23 team did likewise in the parallel group. The Colombia and Uruguay U23 teams finished second in the groups. These four teams now play each other from 4 to 10 February for the two places at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo that are allocated to the South American association CONMEBOL.
The Finn is at the top. Bayer 04 goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky pulled level with Yann Sommer (Borussia Mönchengladbach) on the last matchday – in the table of the goalkeepers with the highest marks according to the kicker sports journal. Hradecky and Sommer have an average mark of 2.73. In third place is Bayern Munich's Manuel Neuer (2.80).
Moussa Diaby was really flying in the first month of the year. For his impressive performance in January, where the Frenchman scored one goal and provided two assists in three games, the Bayer 04 player has been nominated for the Bundesliga Rookie of the Month. In addition to the 20-year-old, Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund) and Christopher Nkunku (RB Leipzig) have also been nominated. Fans can cast their votes at www.rookie-award.com/de.
The ‘kicker meets DAZN - the football podcast’ is in its 22nd edition. Simon Rolfes, the former Werkself player and now sporting director at Bayer 04 Leverkusen, was the guest of presenters Alex Schlüter and Benni Zander last Wednesday at SPOBIS 2020. The 38-year-old talked about his time after ending his playing career, discussions with Rudi Völler and working as a TV pundit. The podcast is available on the kicker and DAZN websites as well as usual podcast platforms.
The Werkself play VfB Stuttgart in the DFB Cup Round of 16 on Wednesday 5 February. The kick-off at the BayArena is at 18.30 CET. Tickets are still available for the game. They are available online via the ticket web shop, by phone Bayer the service centre (0049 (0) 214 5000 1904) or by visiting the Bayer 04 fan shops.
Bayer 04 host Bayern Munich in the semi-finals of the 2025/26 DFB Pokal. The tie will be played on Wednesday, 22 April 2026, at the BayArena with the kick-off at 20:45 CEST. Information on ticket sales.
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Bayer 04 have the chance to reach the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League for the third time ever and the first in 14 years at Arsenal on Tuesday night (kick-off 21:00 CEST/20:00 local time). To do that, the Werkself not only require a strong performance like in the first leg, but also full concentration until the very last minute, as the Premier League leaders like to score late - as they did at the BayArena last week. Here's the Matchday News.
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A special award for special social commitment. At this year's ceremony for the Sepp Herberger Awards in Wolfsburg on Monday night, the DFB Sepp Herberger Foundation recognised Bayer 04 in the social rehabilitation category. The Bundesliga club received the prize, together with €12,000, for its great service to inmates, particularly in the Wuppertal-Ronsdorf prison.
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Can Bayer 04 pull off a coup in London? Just over a week after the 1-1 draw in the first leg of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League round of 16 tie, the Werkself are now looking to put in a convincing performance away at Arsenal – and get a result to secure a place in the quarter-finals. Ahead of the match on Tuesday, (kick-off: 21:00 CET), head coach Kasper Hjulmand shared his thoughts on the team’s hunger for success. Exequiel Palacios, meanwhile, spoke about the importance of the fixture and the team’s development over the past few months.
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In their last two matches, they’ve done exactly what 'Laterkusen' did in the 2023/24 double-winning season: late on, but not too late, the Gunners scored crucial goals – first in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League round of 16 at Bayer 04, then last weekend in the Premier League against Everton. This Tuesday, 17 March (kick-off: 21:00 CET), Arsenal host the Werkself in London. The latest on our opponents.
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