He knows where the opposition goal is. Lucas Alario has impressively demonstrated his qualities as a striker in the previous matches in the second half of the season: The 29-year-old has scored in two of the last four Bundesliga matches after coming on as a substitute. Gerardo Seoane has great confidence in the Werkself number 13 who found the back of the net eleven times in the 2020/21 season to become the top goalscorer for the club last term: "I'm convinced Lucas will get his goals in the coming weeks and help the team," said the Swiss coach at the start of the build-up to the home game against Arminia Bielefeld.
Alario justifies that confidence through hard work day after day – also in addition to full training. The nine-time Argentina international was again the last player on the training ground on Monday afternoon as he completed an extra shift after the session with his teammates.
That mostly pays off. The personal stats of the Argentinian are worth a look. Since his move to the Rhineland in 2017, Alario has clocked up 54 goals and 16 assists in 151 appearances for Leverkusen. He has been on the pitch for 7,649 minutes – that means he scores a goal every 141 minutes on average.
Other plus points for the South American: Despite less minutes on the pitch in the Bundesliga this season (252), he has never let his head drop in training sessions or after coming off the bench and he has always given everything for the success of the team as Seoane never tires of emphasising. "Lucas completely understands that Patrik has had more time on the pitch recently," said the 43-year-old who also declared: "Patrik's run of form has not affected our relationship with Lucas and our confidence in him in any way."
Another option for the Werkself attack is new signing Sardar Azmoun. The Iran international moved under the Bayer Cross in the winter transfer window from the top Russian club Zenit St Petersburg. The 27-year-old is still waiting for his first game for the Black and Reds due to an injury and a Covid-19 infection.
The infection recently put him back a few days on his way to making his debut for Bayer 04. After some relaxed sessions at the weekend, Azmoun is gradually building up his training regime and intensity. "He will most probably take part in sections of full training in the middle or at the end of the week," said Seoane. A possible first inclusion in the squad for the home game against Arminia Bielefeld on Saturday 26 February (kick-off: 15.30 CET) has not been completely ruled out.
The personnel options in the Werkself attack remain of high quality even after the loss of Patrik Schick. The Black and Red goal machine (60 goals in 23 games) will continue to function…
Bayer 04 Leverkusen will have to manage without centre-back Edmond Tapsoba in the coming weeks. The Burkina Faso international returned to the Werkself from the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco with a muscle injury.
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The Werkself are away to Hamburg SV at the end of the Hinrunde in the 2025/26 Bundesliga campaign. The match at the newly promoted club is on Tuesday night, 13 January (kick-off: 20:30 CET). Ahead of the first encounter with HSV since 2018, Kasper Hjulmand spoke about the strengths of the opponents, lessons learnt from the home defeat against VfB Stuttgart and provided a squad update.
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In Germany, the temperatures are currently around zero, leaving even professional footballers freezing - but not the Bayer 04 Women. Roberto Pätzold's team have fled the cold to the south and are preparing for the second half of the season at a training camp in the Algarve, almost 2,000 kilometres away from home as the crow flies. The Leverkusen squad landed in Faro on Saturday morning and have already completed the first three training sessions over the weekend.
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It was a disappointing Saturday night. The Werkself lost 4-1 to VfB Stuttgart to start the new year on Bundesliga matchday 16 in 2025/26, a result that left both players and fans disappointed. "We played without any passion," said Alejandro Grimaldo honestly afterwards. Teammate Jarell Quansah was even more self-critical, emphasising: "We were miles off it in the first half. You can't put in a performance like that, especially in front of our own fans and I can only apologise to them, to be honest." Read on for the reaction, facts and stats from the clash with VfB Stuttgart in the Werkself review.
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