“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.
Calling all Werkself fans: The new Farbenstadt range is available now from the Bayer 04 online shop and the Fanwelt. This includes new T-shirts made of 100% organic cotton, zip-up hoodies and jogging bottoms in five different summer colours.
Show moreBayer 04 new signing Carlotta Wamser has been called up to the Germany squad for the Women's EURO 2025 finals in Switzerland. For the 21-year-old winger, who is set to join Bayer 04 from Eintracht Frankfurt for next season, it is the first participation in a big international tournament.
Show moreFollowing the end of the season for Bayer 04, a lot of Werkself players are currently on the road with their national teams. The Leverkusen players are involved in the semi-finals of the UEFA Nations League, qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and international friendlies. Read on for the latest news on international fixtures involving Werkself players.
Show moreBayer 04 Leverkusen will be the first Bundesliga team to hold their pre-season training camp in South America. The 2024 Bundesliga and DFB Cup winners will be in Rio de Janeiro from 14 to 24 July. Under the motto "Esquenta!" ("warm up"), the Werkself will prepare for the new campaign at the training facility of Flamengo Rio de Janeiro, one of the most renowned and largest clubs in South America.
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