
The Werkself are in the last four on the European stage for the fourth time in the club's history. They were knocked out by Palma in the UEFA Cup in 1994/95, the Black and Reds reached the finals of the UEFA Cup in 1987/88 and the Champions League in 2001/02. Bayer 04 are looking for a repeat in the current campaign as sporting managing director Simon Rolfes said after the final whistle in the second leg at Union Saint-Gilloise: "There's just one target and that's the final."
The route to the final in the Europa League in 2022/23 is via AS Roma. The top Italian team beat Feyenoord after extra time in the quarter-finals and they have some famous players in Stephan El Shaarawy, Georginio Wijnaldum and Paulo Dybala. José Mourinho, the current coach at AS Roma, will face one of his former players at Real Madrid in the games against the Werkself: today's Bayer 04 head coach Xabi Alonso. "We want to give our all in the league and in Europe," declared the Spaniard after reaching the semi-finals.

The Werkself play the first leg in Rome on 11 May with the kick-off at 21.00 CEST (ticket information to follow). That is followed a week later by the second leg at the BayArena in Leverkusen, which was sold out after 90 minutes.
The Werkself can also count on the full support of their fans in the Bundesliga: Four of the last five league home games have been sold out. And all the home tickets have been sold for the match against RB Leipzig on Sunday (kick-off: 17.30 CEST). 29,000 fans are expected at the BayArena including 713 from Leipzig.
The Werkself are then away to Union Berlin. The away allocation has been sold out. The following home derby against FC Köln is also a sell-out..
Success on the pitch and the good atmosphere at the BayArena have helped to ensure a rapid increase in membership numbers at Bayer 04 over recent weeks: The threshold of 33,000 members was achieved a few days ago and now there are 1,000 more. Bayer 04 look forward to great support for the season run-in.
Us. For our dream.

A special visit to the BayArena: 222 members from volunteer fire brigades in Leverkusen, the Rheinisch-Bergisch district and the Oberbergisch district watched the Werkself’s 2–0 home win over Slovenian champions NK Celje live in the stadium. Bayer 04 had invited them to the 2026/27 Europa League opener as a thank-you for their tremendous dedication. They watched the match together in Block F4.
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The Bayer 04 U19s have extended their winning run with a fifth consecutive victory on Matchday 5 of the DFB Youth League’s preliminary round. Coach Patrick Greveraars’ side secured a 3–2 (2–1) win in their match against second-placed FC Viktoria Köln, with Burak Kir and Nebe Domnic scoring for the hosts in the first half before captain Ben Hawighorst found the net after the break.
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Bayer 04 will have to manage without defender Guéla Doué for the time being. The Ivory Coast international sustained a muscle injury to his right calf during the final Werkself training session yesterday ahead of the Europa League clash with Slovenian champions NK Celje.
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For the first time since reaching the final against AS Roma (2–2, first leg 2–0) in May 2024, Bayer 04 are playing another home match in the UEFA Europa League – and they will be wearing their new European kit. On Wednesday 16 September (kick-off: 21:00 CEST), the BayArena will welcome Slovenian champions NK Celje, who appointed a new coach this week following a mixed start to the season. Under the slogan “40 Years Across Europe. Still Creating History.”, the Black and Reds now aim to add the next chapter to their European history, which has seen so much success in recent years. Bayer 04 fans can follow the match on free-to-air TV on RTL, as well as on Sky and Werkself Radio. The matchday news.
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European football returns to the BayArena: Bayer 04 host Slovenian champions NK Celje on matchday 1 in the group stage of the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League. Ahead of the match on Wednesday 16 September (kick-off: 21:00 CEST), head coach Carles Martínez and midfielder Aleix Garcia spoke at the pre-match press conference. The focus was primarily on the great anticipation surrounding the competition and the clear objectives for it – and, given the circumstances, on a last-minute change to the opposition line-up.
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