The Werkself were under pressure ahead of the home game against the La Liga runners-up Deportivo La Coruna following the 4-0 defeat away to Juventus in the first match in the second group stage. "We definitely have to win if we want to stay in the competition," demanded Bayer 04 coach Klaus Toppmöller, whose team suffered their first defeat of the season in the Bundesliga away to Werder Bremen (1-2) the previous weekend but still led Germany's top flight. Deportivo had not lost any of their seven games in this Champions League campaign, they beat Arsenal in the first second group stage match and came to Leverkusen as leaders of Group D.
Bayer 04 immediately took control at the BayArena in front of a full house. Zé Roberto missed the first big chance after five minutes when he was unable to convert an excellent pass from Oliver Neuville. Driven on by Michael Ballack and Bernd Schneider, the hosts again and again pushed forward with Zé Roberto and Oli Neuville constantly causing problems for the Deportivo defence. The visitors mainly defended with their star striker Roy Makaay having little chance to shine. The Spanish side were fortunate to go into half-time with the score at 0-0. It was the same after the restart albeit without clear-cut chances for the Werkself early on. Zé Roberto then broke the deadlock when he curled a free kick from 20 yards out into the top right corner to make it 1-0 (64'). Three minutes later, Neuville doubled the lead after good work by Calle Ramelow (67'). Deportivo were finally more offensive but Ballack's headed goal from a Zé Roberto corner to make it 3-0 finally sealed the result (79').
The wonderful free kick goal from Ze Roberto hit with his left foot and plenty of swerve paved the way to victory and set the BayArena alight. The build-up to the second goal was fantastic when the Brazilian first broke up an opposition attack in midfield, Calle Ramelow seized possession and, after a one-two with Ulf Kirsten, chipped the ball into the path of Oliver Neuville. He left the Deportivo keeper Molina with no chance of making the save with his shot from 13 yards out.
Zé Roberto not only scored the important opener but was also involved in the second goal and he provided the assist for the third from a corner. The Brazilian, who had attracted great interest from Deportivo in the summer, was the Man of the Match.
"We didn't go crazy after the two defeats in Turin and Bremen," said Bayer 04 skipper Jens Nowotny after the game highlighting the mentality of the group. Coach Klaus Toppmöller was also relieved: "Now this crisis talk is finally over. We needed a lot of patience in this game. It was incredible how much effort my team put in. And later they produced some wonderful moves. Fantastic." The visitors' coach Janvier Irureta admitted: "Bayer were stronger at the end and we couldn't come back after the opening goal."
The Rheinische Post reported after the 3-0 win: "After the total flop in Turin, Bayer 04 have now returned to the main entrance to the European stage. The renaissance of the Leverkusen team, enthusiastically followed by the crowd, saw their skill on the ball arrive with delay." The Kicker, "the success of Leverkusen was fully deserved, Bayer 04 could, and should, have sealed it in the first half." The big Spanish daily paper, El Pais, wrote in contrast: "Depor bleed out in Germany, Leverkusen crush Irureta's team."
Bayer 04: Butt – Zivkovic, Lucio, Nowotny, Placente – Schneider, Ramelow, Ballack (Vranjes 87'), Zé Roberto – Neuville (Berbatov 86'), Kirsten (Bastürk 74')
La Coruna: Molina – Hector, Donato, Naybet, Romero – Emerson , Mauro Silva, Scaloni (Djalminha 71'), Valeron (Tristan 76'), Fran (Amavisca 59') - Makaay
Goals: 1-0 Zé Roberto (64'), 2-0 Neuville (67'), 3-0 Ballack (79')
Booked: Scaloni
Chances: 12 - 3
Shots: 13 - 6; on target: 7 - 0
Corners: 8 - 1
Referee: Kyros Vassaras (Greece)
Attendance: 22,500 (sold out)
There was sheer euphoria at the BayArena at the latest after the second goal from Oliver Neuville. The fans sang 'Carnival at Bayer' and gave crowd favourite Ulf Kirsten a standing ovation when he was substituted on 74 minutes. The striker celebrated his 36th birthday on that day and was clearly delighted by happy birthday being sung by the North Stand.
Everything wide open again: As Arsenal beat Juventus 3-1 in the other game, all the teams in Group D had three points from two matches. The next outing in the competition for the Werkself was on 19 February 2002 against Arsenal at the BayArena.
The Bayer 04 Round of 16 tie in the 2026/27 DFB Pokal has been scheduled. The Werkself will host Bundesliga rivals RB Leipzig on Wednesday, 2 December, at 18:00 CET. That was announced by the German Football Association (DFB).
Show more
Video game developer Electronic Arts (EA), in collaboration with the Bundesliga, has announced the six nominees for the Bundesliga Player of the Month award for October 2026 – and Bayer 04’s Ibrahim Maza is among them. Fans of the Black and Reds can vote from now until Sunday 8 November (23:59 CET).
Show more
On Tuesday night, the Leverkusen e-sports team played the first three of their six group stage matches in the second round of the 2026/27 VBL Club Championship. They were unable to secure more than a draw in either of their matches against FC Augsburg and VfB Stuttgart. The match against Bayern Munich ended in defeat.
Show more
Once again, several Werkself players are set to represent their respective national teams during the final international break of the calendar year. Here is an overview of the Leverkusen players called up for international duty and the match dates. This will be updated regularly.
Show more
