
Speaking at yesterday's pre-match press conference, Germany coach Jogi Löw announced that Tah would miss the final training session and probably not take part in the friendly against Argentina. It also means that the Werkself number four will not play in the Euro 2020 qualifier against Estonia on Sunday 13 October (20.45 CET). Get well soon, Jonah!
While Tah set off home, the rest of the Werkself pros in Leverkusen took part in the second training session of the week. Peter Bosz led the session at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium with the focus on shooting. And the 55-year-old thought up a system of rewards: Anyone who scored had to do a short sprint after the shot. Anybody who had their shot saved by the keeper or hit the woodwork had a shorter punishment run and anyone who missed the target had to do a long run.
In comparison with yesterday's group in training, consisting of Volland, Bellarabi, Weiser, Demirbay, Wendell, Lomb, Azhil from the U19’s and Özcan, only the last named was missing as he completed an individual routine as did Lars and Sven Bender plus Leon Bailey. He was replaced by the U19 keeper Marcel Johnen who had the chance to work with the first team squad.
The Bundesliga is taking a break but a look at the table is not uninteresting at the moment. The current tight position in the top third of the table this term has only happened once before since the introduction of the three points for a win rule in 1995/96 after matchday seven. 13 years ago, in the 2006/07 season, the gap between league leaders Werder Bremen (13 points) and seventh-placed Borussia Dortmund (11) was just two points. Bayer 04 were twelfth back then and ended the season in fifth place. And the champions? That was VfB Stuttgart who were 'only' eighth after matchday seven.
Borussia Mönchengladbach are currently top on 16 points and Bayer 04 seventh on 14 points. So the race for the title and the European spots is still wide open. And league action returns next week with the Werkself opening matchday eight at Eintracht Frankfurt.


Bayern Munich come to the BayArena this Saturday with an 11-point lead in the Bundesliga as they look to take a step closer to the title. As imperious as they may seem, a weakness has emerged of late that the Werkself proved they can exploit in Wednesday’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal in the Champions League. Leverkusen are also looking to make it four Bundesliga home games unbeaten against the Bavarians. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the 15:30 CET kick-off in our matchday news.
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Another home game, another top opponent - another marker? Three days after their convincing performance in the 1-1 draw with Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg, Bayer 04 continue their Bundesliga campaign with an equally high-calibre fixture. Matchday 26 sees league leaders Bayern Munich visit the sold-out BayArena. Ahead of the clash, head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about a comparison between Arsenal and the Bavarians, Bayern's high-scoring performance in Europe's premier club competition and a return to the squad for one Werkself player.
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High spirits and previously untold stories: Around 100 Bayer 04 fans packed the Schwadbud fan pub in the east stand of the BayArena on Thursday evening to be there in person for the first instalment of the new series of events entitled “Rudi lädt ein” (Rudi invites you). They listened intently as long-serving Werkself players Gonzalo Castro and Stefan Kießling chatted with record appearance-maker Rüdiger Vollborn and presenter and stadium announcer Tobias Ufer about their many years together at the club, shared amusing anecdotes and revealed dressing room secrets. Anyone who missed the premiere can already look forward to the second instalment – on 12 May, Rudi will be testing the expert knowledge of Bayer 04 fans during a quiz night.
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The Bundesliga home game against VfL Wolfsburg in the first half of the season was one of those classic ‘days to forget’ for Bayer 04 Women. It started with goalkeeper Charlotte Voll being shown a red card in the first minute of the game, and following a further sending-off, coach Roberto Pätzold's 9-women side ended up losing 5-1 to last season's runners-up. At 18.30 CET on Sunday, they'll have the chance to exact revenge at the AOK Stadium - and pick up valuable points in the race for third place.
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They're well on their way to becoming German champions for the 35th time and once again proved their incredible class in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday. This Saturday, 14 March (kick-off: 15.30 CET), Bayern Munich will be the visitors to the BayArena. It'll be a meeting of the two Bundesliga teams with the most dominant styles of play. A look at our opponents shows the visitors from the Bavarian capital have many strengths - but are also vulnerable.
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