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 Werkself beat Olympiacos 2-0 in the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League play-off first leg to claim a crucial victory in the Greek capital. After a focused first-half display with a number of presentable chances, Patrik Schick crowned a textbook counter to hand the Werkself the lead on the hour (60’). The Czech rounded off his brace when he headed in from a corner just 144 seconds later. Bayer 04 maintained their lead with aplomb to achieve a good position for the return leg in Leverkusen.
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Bayer 04 and Olympiacos had only met twice before the current UEFA Champions campaign. After the encounter on Matchday 7 of this season’s league phase, the Werkself travel to face the Greek side for the second time in just four weeks for the knockout play-off first leg. The Black and Reds were dominant for large spells in mid-January but lost 2-0 after missing a number of presentable chances. The Werkself aim to do better on Wednesday night to “seize the chance for revenge,” as managing director sport Simon Rolfes put it. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game in our matchday news.
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A bitter end to the fifth showdown of the 2025/26 VBL Club Championship as the #B04eSports team failed to take any points in the three remaining matches of the preliminary online round of the fifth and final showdown, missing out on the offline round. They can no longer take points in the overall table. Bayer 04 slipped out on the top eight, so direct participation in the final event for the German Club Championship is no longer possible, with Bayer 04 having to contest the play-offs.
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A rematch in Athens: On Wednesday, 18 February (kick-off: 21:00 CET), the Werkself face Greek double winners Olympiacos for the second time this season at the Karaiskakis Stadium. After the encounter in the league phase, it's now time for the first leg of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League play-offs. Ahead of the game, head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about how his side will approach the clash, while captain Robert Andrich explained how the team will try to dampen the atmosphere in the stadium tomorrow.
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With the much-celebrated 2-1 derby win against 1. FC Köln, the Bayer 04 Women underlined their credentials as one of the top teams in the Bundesliga. Anyone wishing to support the Werkself in the stadium in the race for third place can now purchase tickets for the home match against FC Carl Zeiss Jena. Tickets are also still available for the upcoming clash against TSG Hoffenheim at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium on Sunday, 22 February. The latest information at a glance.
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