Season review 2025/26

Lying third in the Bundesliga, the Werkself made a faltering start in 2026 after the winter break, but gradually rediscovered winning ways and, as in the previous campaign, were among the top 16 in Europe and the top four in the DFB Pokal. In the Bundesliga, the Werkself also remained in the race for Champions League qualification right to the end. However, because setbacks repeatedly crept into the Werkself's performances between good displays and crucial games, it was not quite enough to secure a UCL spot in the end. A season with many ups and downs brought sixth place and qualification for the UEFA Europa League. Part II of the review of the 2025/26 season.

Good form follows a poor start - plus a big boost

After the winter break, Bayer 04 resumed competitive play in January with a home match against VfB Stuttgart. The 4-1 defeat was met with disappointment, and the following days did not go according to plan either: The postponement of the match against Hamburger SV led to an unplanned gap in the fixtures, before a narrow defeat against TSG Hoffenheim (0-1) saw Bayer 04 slip to sixth place. When the penultimate match of the Champions League phase also ended in defeat with a  0-2 scoreline, it was the first time in the season the club lost three competitive matches in a row. To make matters worse, in the middle to the end of January Ibrahim Maza (Algeria), Edmond Tapsoba (Burkina Faso), Christian Kofane (Cameroon) and Eliesse Ben Seghir (Morocco) took part in AFCON 2026 in Morocco. The players, without a proper winter break and with an intensive tournament in their legs, only gradually returned to first team action with the Werkself. Injuries also intervened from mid-January with Nathan Tella and Mark Flekken each sidelined for two months. Ben Seghir was also absent for some time, as the Moroccan returned from the Africa Cup with an injury.

Nevertheless, the Werkself, disrupted in terms of personnel, gradually regained the same stability from the end of January onwards as they had going into the winter break a few weeks earlier. An important 1-0 win against Werder Bremen at the end of January, for example, was an afternoon full of positive stories: Lucas Vázquez was the match-winner as he scored his first Bundesliga goal in a Werkself jersey. Exequiel Palacios celebrated his long-awaited comeback after several months out injured. And after the final whistle, the fans quickly turned their attention to another fixture: Bayern Munich suffered their first Bundesliga defeat of the season against FC Augsburg (1-2). ‘Undefeated champions’ rang out at the BayArena. The Werkself are, to date, the only team not to lose a single game for an entire Bundesliga season.

European success - DFB Pokal semi-finals

On the back of the important win against Werder Bremen, Bayer 04 tackled the next tasks with confidence. Four days later, Bayer 04 achieved the interim target in the Champions League with a controlled performance: With the 3-0 win against Villarreal, Alejandro Grimaldo with a goal and a brace from Malik Tillman saw the Werkself book their ticket for the play-off round and keep the run in Europe going. Keeper Jonas Omlin, on loan from Borussia Mönchengladbach, was part of the matchday squad for the first time. The team's domestic form also continued to improve: The Black and Reds beat Eintracht Frankfurt 3-1 in Edmond Tapsoba's 250th Bayer 04 appearance thanks in part to Arthur's first Bundesliga goal. A few days later, the Werkself secured a 3-0 victory over FC St. Pauli in the DFB Pokal to qualify for the semi-finals for the third time in a row. The league match against the Kiezkickers a week and a half later ended with a 4-0 win with four Werkself players Patrik Schick, Ernest Poku, Edmond Tapsoba and Jarell Quansah on the scoresheet. The team were not happy with a 1-1 draw against Mönchengladbach in the meantime.

Robert Andrich and Co. went into the play-off first leg in a confident mood. The fact they had been drawn against Olympiacos, of all teams, who they had struggled against in the league phase just a few weeks earlier, spurred the team on all the more. And Kasper Hjulmand's side laid the foundations for progressing to the last 16 in the UCL in the Greek capital: Much better prepared for the renewed high press from Olympiacos, the Werkself won 2-0 thanks to Patrik Schick's brace.

Setbacks and a series of draws

The euphoria of recent matches was dampened at the end of February: Not only did the run of seven competitive matches without defeat come to an end against Union Berlin, but Loïc Badé suffered a long-term injury in the 1-0 home defeat. That was followed by a 0-0 draw in the second leg against Olympiacos that secured a place in the Round of 16. Then came draws in the league against Mainz 05 (1-1), SC Freiburg (3-3), where Tim Oermann made his Bayer 04 debut, Bayern Munich (1-1) and FC Heidenheim (3-3). Although the Werkself remained unbeaten in the league for a whole month after the Union defeat, the points were fewer than hoped for. The only win came in the rearranged match against Hamburger SV (1-0). Montrell Culbreath, who had signed his first professional contract just a few weeks earlier and whom Kasper Hjulmand placed a lot of trust in on the right wing due to the absence of Lucas Vázquez through injury, was allowed to start for the first time. And the youngster repaid that trust with great commitment and good performances up to the end of the season.

In the Champions League, meanwhile, Arsenal provided high-quality opposition in the Round of 16. Thanks to a combative and disciplined team performance, the Werkself had one of the title favourites on the brink of defeat in a 1-1 draw in the first leg. It was only on 89 minutes that goalscorer and man of the match Robert Andrich and Co. conceded the equaliser when Kai Havertz coverted a penalty. It was the former Leverkusen player's first return to the BayArena since leaving in 2020. Before kick-off, the now 26-year-old was honoured by Werner Wenning, Chairman of the Shareholders' Committee, Fernando Carro, CEO, and Managing Director Sport Simon Rolfes for his many years of service at Leverkusen. There was also a reunion with Piero Hincapie that evening. A week later in the second leg, Janis Blaswich excelled with top marks thanks to countless impressive saves, but the game in London ended in a 2-0 defeat against Havertz, Hincapie and Co. The curtain thus came down on the European campaign for the Werkself in the English capital against an opponent who went on to reach the Champions League final and be crowned Premier League champions.

Ecstasy and disillusionment

After the final international break of the season, the Bundesliga entered the home straight in April - and with it, crunch time in the battle for Champions League qualification had finally begun for the Werkself. At this point, Bayer 04 were still in sixth place even after going five games without a win. Victory was a must if they were to make it into the UCL. The start to the final phase of the season against VfL Wolfsburg was initially nerve-wracking: After an inadequate first half, including conceding three goals, the Werkself turned the deficit into a much-acclaimed win in the second half. A 6-3 home win - also thanks to the tireless support of the fans. They once again gave their all for the final part of the season and also called for the traditional ‘Finally Red’ campaign in the final run-in. It continued - thanks in part to 120 kmph goalscorer Robert Andrich - with a big win at Borussia Dortmund (1-0), which, however, lost some of its value a week later with a hard-to-grasp 2-1 defeat against FC Augsburg. "Sometimes football is brutal," said coach Kasper Hjulmand, as only one of an incredible 36 shots on goal against FCA ended up in the net. A 2-0 loss in the DFB Pokal semi-final against the newly crowned German champions Bayern Munich saw Bayer 04 knocked out of the competition.

Fire, focus, full throttle

But ‘wipe your brow, move on’ was the motto, as everything was still wide open in the race for Europe in the Bundesliga. In the derby against FC Köln, the Werkself won 2-1 thanks to a Patrik Schick brace. The Czech scored Bayer 04's 99th and 100th goals, and it was the club's fifth derby win in a row. With "fire, focus and full throttle" - Kasper Hjulmand's words before the next game - three points against RB Leipzig were to follow. And the Werkself delivered: The Black and Reds took the Red Bulls by surprise with 75 per cent possession at times and electrified the BayArena with a 4-1 victory. In addition to Nathan Tella, who scored and set up a goal for the first time in a Bundesliga match, Patrik Schick scored three times and secured fourth place with his team-mates. However, the brilliant performance was followed by another setback: Bayer 04 lost at VfB Stuttgart, a direct rival for Champions League qualification, on the penultimate matchday despite Aleix Garcia's goal after just over 30 seconds and slipped back to sixth place. The door to the UCL was thus virtually closed.

Only defeats for Stuttgart and Hoffenheim on the final matchday would be enough for the Champions League after all - assuming a win against Hamburger SV. However, Bayer 04 drew 1-1 with the newly promoted team from northern Germany, but a win would not have been enough anyway as VfB won their match. The disappointment in the Bayer 04 camp after the final whistle of the last game of the season was therefore naturally great. "Ultimately, it wasn't enough for the Champions League," said Robert Andrich after the game. However, the captain also declared: "But it would be wrong belittle everything from this season - we also had many games where we were able to give the fans great joy. In the end, there were just too many little things that made the difference at this very high level." Coach Kasper Hjulmand's conclusion was similarly reflective, as he said before the clash: "We gave everything we had for a good season. You must not forget: There were big changes and a lot of new players came in. There are many nuances to consider when analysing a season like this. It's not all black and white." After the final whistle, the Dane explained: "It wasn't an easy season, even though there were many good performances. The fact we missed out on a few points is annoying. Overall, I still have to praise the team and the staff for their work and diligence this season."

On the last afternoon of the season, the fans also deserved a lot of praise. After the final whistle, the team thanked them once again for their huge support during an intense, changeable and instructive season. A season full of highs and lows, full of changes, developments and twists and turns. As the team finishing sixth in the Bundesliga, Bayer 04 will compete in the UEFA Europa League next season - with a new hunger, fully focused, with fresh energy plus important and valuable experiences from this season just gone. So, dear Werkself fans, we are already looking ahead, because the next chapter Under the Cross will soon begin.