Time for a premiere at the Oberwerth Stadium: The Werkself played in the new, red JAKO away kit. Head coach Roger Schmidt opted to start with Chicharito and Kevin Volland up front with goalkeeper Ramazan Özcan making his debut appearance for Bayer 04. Stalwart Stefan Kießling was rested after the intensive week of training and was not included in the squad for the Koblenz game. Tin Jedvaj and Admir Mehmedi, who started the pre-season today with the usual medical checks, were also not in the squad.
The first real chance of the game on three minutes: Kevin Volland put Chicharito through but the Mexican was unable to beat the Koblenz keeper Sebastian Patzler. Just after that, the new signing from Hoffenheim fired a volley goalwards but Patzler pulled off a brilliant save. A brilliant move from Karim Bellarabi including a one-two with Volland led to Leverkusen taking the lead: Bellarabi sent in a cross from the right and an attempted clearance by Ricardo Antonaci ended with the ball in the back of his own net to make it 1-0 on 15 minutes.
Bellarabi and Volland form impressive duo
As expected, the Werkself set the pace against the Regional League side and they moved the ball around with ease. Whenever Bayer 04 upped the tempo going forward Koblenz struggled to cope. And a rapid attack down the right flank ended with Kevin Volland doubling the lead on 25 minutes with his fourth goal in the pre-season to date. Bellarabi then set up Chicharito but his effort went just wide of the Koblenz goal on 32 minutes. Volland again demonstrated his attacking prowess when a fast-paced attack from a lively Werkself side ended with the striker netting again to put Bayer 04 3-0 up on 35 minutes. Bellarabi provided the assists for both of Volland’s strikes.
Roger Schmidt rang the changes after the break bringing on Baumgartlinger, Brandt, da Costa, Calhanoglu, Pohjanpalo and Lomb. The goalkeeper was awake on the hour mark when he saved the only Koblenz shot with his feet. The youngsters Akkaynak, Havertz and Schreck came on at that point shortly before Cacutalua and Abu Hanna. Bayer 04 took the foot of the gas in the second half but still sought to maintain control of the game and chances still came along – as with a shot against the woodwork from the Koblenz captain Andre Marx as he almost turned a Brandt cross into his own net for a second own goal (78’). Brandt rounded off the scoring with an excellent shot from the edge of the box: 4-0 for the Werkself with three minutes to play.
Porto on Wednesday in Bergisch Gladbach
The Werkself can expect a stiffer work-out in the next friendly: The top Portuguese side FC Porto provide the opposition on Wednesday night at the Belkaw Arena in Bergisch Gladbach at 18.00 CET.
Bayer 04: Özcan (Lomb 46’) – Kruse (da Costa 46’), Ramalho (Akkaynak 63’ ), Toprak (Cacutalua 76’), Hilbert (Abu Hanna 76’) – Bender (Baumgartlinger 46’), Kampl (Havertz 63’) – Bellarabi (Brandt 46’), Öztunali (Schreck 63’) – Volland (Calhanoglu 46’), Chicharito (Pohjanpalo 46’)
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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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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Sofie Zdebel is up for the Goal of the Month award for February on ARD-Sportschau. Fans have until 21 March (19:00 CET) to vote for the Germany U23 international's volley to make it 2-0 in the Bayer 04 Women's derby against FC Köln (2-1).
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