“You could see in the players that we’ve been working hard in training this week. If you take the overall conditions and the heat into account then my players’ commitment has been fine,” said Herrlich in a positive summary of the game. The new Bayer 04 coach made no bones about not being pleased with everything his players did on the pitch. “There is lots to improve on,” he said. That included Herrlich complaining about his team committing unnecessary fouls. “We want to get away from that,” he added. Herrlich also saw the conversion rate of the chances created, particularly in the first half, as an area for improvement.
Kießling nets the first goal of the new season
Five days after the start of the pre-season, the Werkself were clearly on top in the first 45 and they produced a lot of very good moves. Overall, they found it hard to finish against a battling Oberliga team from Mülheim with many opportunities being wasted. Only Stefan Kießling was able to find the back of the opposition net with a header after a delightful cross from Kevin Kampl to enable the Werkself to go into the break with a 1-0 lead.
Eleven changes at half-time
Herrlich fielded eleven new players for the second half. Again, the flow of the game was in one direction and the fresh pairs of legs of the Werkself were able to make chances - at times one minute after the next. It did take until the 66th minute before the impressive visiting keeper Robin Offhaus had to pick the ball out of the net for a second beer: From a corner taken by Vladlen Yurchenko, Joel Pohjanpalo doubled the lead with a well-placed flying header.
That finally opened the floodgates. Yurchenko made it 3-0 from the penalty spot three minutes later. Bayer 04 were unlucky shortly after that when Kevin Volland hit another penalty against the post. In the closing stages Kai Havertz, Admir Mehmedi and Volland, with an admirable long-range effort, made it the 6-0 to finish with.
The next friendly for Bayer 04 is on Friday (17.30 CET). The Werkself play third division Würzburger Kickers at the JAKO Arena in Hollenbach. The game will again be streamed live on the Bayer 04 Facebook page.
Bayer 04 in the first half: Öczan – Frey, Bender, Abu Hanna, Wendell – Boller, Baumgartlinger – Bellarabi, Kampl, Schreck – Kießling.
Bayer 04 in the second half: Lomb – Bednarczyk, Ramalho, Dragovic, Handwerker – Yurchenko, Akkaynak – Havertz, Mehmedi – Volland, Pohjanpalo.
The European jersey has been launched, the UEL opponents have been drawn – and anticipation for the European campaign is running high. To mark the occasion, an autograph session was held on Friday afternoon, 28 August, at the Fanwelt with current Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and official club legend Paulo Sergio.
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After six and a half years, Exequiel Palacios is leaving the Bundesliga and moving from Bayer 04 to the Premier League. The Argentine, who as a Werkself player won the World Cup with his national team four years ago and finished as runners-up at this summer’s tournament, will play for newly promoted English side Ipswich Town with immediate effect. The 27-year-old, whose contract in Leverkusen was due to run until 30 June 2030, joined Bayer 04 in January 2020 as a promising young talent. He steadily developed into one of the best defensive midfielders in the German top flight.
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When Exequiel Palacios moved from the Argentinian club River Plate to Bayer Leverkusen on 1 January 2020, the then 21-year-old could not have imagined just how successful the next six and a half years would be for him. Pala, as he is known, had already won the Copa Libertadores – the most prestigious competition in South American club football – with River Plate. But there were still so many more trophies to come.
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To mark Exequiel Palacios’s departure, we’ve put together a compilation of the midfielder’s finest and most important goals from his six-and-a-half years at the club.
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