
The supporting programme for the double winners' final pre-season home match began well before kick-off, at the neighbouring Ulrich Haberland Stadium. Bayer 04's U19s welcomed Alemannia Aachen as part of Matchday 2 of the DFB Youth League - and defeated the visitors 5-2 in front of a top crowd of 670.
Meanwhile, indelible memories were captured next door all around the BayArena: Bayer 04 club members with a ticket for the season opener, who had secured one of the coveted timeslots in advance, were able to take their photo with the championship trophy and the DFB Cup.







Around half an hour before kick-off, Andre Schnura made a surprise appearance among the fans in the stands with his black saxophone, which had been made famous throughout the country since UEFA EURO 2024. The Leverkusen-born musician performed the Bayer 04 anthem live and got the crowd in the mood for the day’s sporting exhibition.

At the start of the warm-up for the match, in front of 28,395 spectators - a record number for a Bayer 04 season opener – a quartet of players received honours from the sidelines. Jonathan Tah, Jeremie Frimpong, Granit Xhaka and Florian Wirtz were handed their trophies by members of the Kurvenrat for being voted as part of the UEFA Europa League 2023/24 "Team of the Season". Wirtz also received the Leverkusen "Player of the Season" award - as voted for by members of the Werkself. In addition, Dennis Heinzmann from Bayer Giants Leverkusen congratulated the winners of this year's city cycling event. At the same time, the fans tried out the many activities and games on offer in and around the stadium.







After the warm-up and following a final team talk in the dressing room, the Werkself went out onto the pitch following one another, meeting with loud support from the fans in the stands. Before kick-off, one last honour was to be bestowed: Xabi Alonso received the kicker "Coach of the Year" award. And then it was time for the match. All the while, a chant from the stands that was unmistakable throughout the season opener could be heard: "Champions of Germany!"







While the Werkself prepared for the second half in the changing rooms, the players and coaching team of Bayer 04's women took to the pitch. Speaking on the stadium microphone, new head coach Roberto Pätzold said, among other things: "I was given a fantastic reception and the framework here at Bayer 04 is excellent. You can feel that it's a big club with a lot of success." He continued: "The team impressed me very highly. The players' willingness to perform is huge. We are working meticulously in training to win as many games as possible and offer the spectators great football to watch."






Regardless of the 1-1 final score (this way to the match report!), the 90 minutes were followed by a penalty shoot-out into the goal in front of the Nordkurve, which the teams had agreed on in advance for training purposes. Lukas Hradecky was the main protagonist of the shoot-out, saving three out of four penalties, while three of the four penalty takers netted for the Werkself - ensuring a successful end to pre-season preparations, with regards to the fixtures played.







Afterwards, all the Werkself players from both the men’s and women’s teams, complete with numerous members of the Löwenclub, handed out some signed footballs to the crowd, providing the fans with another, final highlight of this varied 2024/25 season opener.

Bayer 04 Leverkusen have agreed a loan deal with Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach for Argentinian striker Alejo Sarco. The 20-year-old joins Mönchengladbach with immediate effect for the rest of the season.
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The Werkself are away to Greek double winners Olympiacos on matchday 7 in the league phase of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League campaign. Tonight, 20 January (kick-off: 22:00 local time/21:00 CET), Bayer 04 will not only face a familiar face in Panagiotis Retsos, but also an experienced and successful team in their Greek top-flight opponents. The Olympiacos midfield and forward line in particular are peppered with seasoned veterans from top European clubs - but even they will first have to find solutions against the Werkself defence that has recently performed with aplomb in the UCL. The matchday news.
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The Werkself are away to Greek double winners Olympiacos on matchday 7 of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League league phase. Ahead of the clash on Tuesday, 20 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET), head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about anticipation for the game. Werkself player Ibrahim Maza also gave an insight into dealing with the recent setbacks.
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After their first win on matchday 6 in the UCL league phase, Olympiacos are still in with a good chance of reaching the play-offs in the UEFA Champions League. The 2024 UEFA Conference League winners will be looking to go one better in their home match against Bayer 04 this Tuesday, 20 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET), but their stop scorer is unavailable. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Panagiotis, known as Panos, Retsos wore the Bayer 04 jersey for three years. Including his loan spells, he was under contract with the Werkself for a total of four and a half years. "It's a very special club for me," said the 27-year-old, who returned to his boyhood club Olympiacos in 2022, in an interview with bayer04.de. The former Leverkusen man is now captain and a first choice for the Werkself's next opponents in the UEFA Champions League. Ahead of the clash on Tuesday night, 20 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET), Retsos talks about his fond memories of his time in Leverkusen and the imminent reunion with some of his former team-mates. He also talks about who brought him to Leverkusen and why he likes getting older.
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