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 German Football Association (DFB) has officially recognised Bayer 04 as a women’s talent support centre. As announced by the DFB, 1 FC Köln, Union Berlin, RB Leipzig and Hamburger SV are also certified as performance or talent support centres from 1 January 2026 in addition to the Werkself.
Show more
Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 0-1 loss at Werder Bremen on the 13th matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2025/26.
Show more
Bayer 04 Women suffered a setback at the halfway point of the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga. In a battle of the chasing pack between the teams in third and fourth, coach Roberto Pätzold's side lost 1-0 at SV Werder Bremen in a physical contest. The result leaves the Werkself on 22 points after 13 matchdays and now four points behind Bremen.
Show more
The penultimate Bundesliga matchday of the calendar year marks the end of an eventful first half of the season for the Bayer 04 Women. After seven wins, one draw and four defeats from the first twelve games of the season, coach Roberto Pätzold's team can go above Werder Bremen in the table with a win on Friday, 12 December (kick-off: 18:30 CET).
Show more
