
"It was purely a preventative measure as Karim received a knock to his pelvis in the game. We wanted to see how he would get on after two days off," said the Swiss coach.
Bellarabi made it 2-0 for the Werkself on Saturday – that was his 57th goal for the Black and Reds. That puts the winger eighth in the all-time list of goalscorers for Bayer 04. The 31-year-old has been under the Bayer Cross since 2011 – with the exception of a loan spell at Eintracht Braunschweig in 2013/14.
"Karim brings a lot of energy to the team," Seoane made clear to the media after the Tuesday afternoon training session. In addition to his physicality and dynamism on the pitch, "he above all helps the team with his experience. He plays efficiently, and finds the right space as with his goal at the weekend." The Werkself number 38 has played an important role in recent years and influences the team with his positive approach.

According to the 43-year-old coach, Bellarabi's qualities will be of great importance in the coming weeks if the Werkself are to be in the running to qualify for the Champions League in the Bundesliga run-in: "Karim has already played for us in the champions league and it was in the DFB Cup semi-final. So, he knows how to deal with the club's ambitions. That helps us."

Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 0-1 loss at Eintracht Frankfurt on the 17th matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2025/26.
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Bayer 04 have a score to settle with Borussia Mönchengladbach after their late equaliser in the reverse fixture. But it’s been a while since the points were shared in this fixture at Borussia-Park, where the Werkself have won their last six visits – their best run ever away at a team in the Bundesliga. Victory in Saturday evening’s game (18:30 CET) would also be the team’s fifth in a row in all competitions and their best run this season, while Gladbach are only just above the bottom three after going four games without a win. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the evening’s encounter in our matchday news.
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