Alonso handed debuts to summer signings Alejandro Grimaldo, Jonas Hofmann and Granit Xhaka. Alongside captain Lukas Hradecky, the starting XI also featured Jeremie Frimpong, Edmond Tapsoba, Odilon Kossounou, Exequiel Palacios, Florian Wirtz, Amine Adli and Azmoun in a 4-2-3-1 formation.
The crowd of roughly 1,890 saw the Werkself start strong in their newly released away strip for the coming campaign. The first chance of the game fell to Adli from Xhaka with eight minutes gone, but it was saved. Moments later, Hofmann delivered a teasing cross into the box, but nobody could get on the end of it.
Then Paderborn carved out their first chance, which Hradecky turned behind for a corner. The second division club had the ball in the back of the net from the subsequent set piece, but referee Nico Fuchs signalled offside. A chip from Palacios and a free-kick from Grimaldo midway through the first half came close to putting Leverkusen ahead.
The Werkself finally got the first goal of the day when a through ball from Tapsoba found Azmoun, who finished into the bottom right corner to open Bayer 04’s account for 2023/24. Paderborn responded in the 45th minute, however, with a long-range effort from Florent Muslija.
Paderborn opened the second half with another attempt from distance that went just wide. Although substitute Adam Hlozek almost restored the advantage for Leverkusen, it was the opposition who struck next when a cross from the left found Filip Bilbija.
The Werkself pushed for an equaliser of their own but were unable to find a way through an assured Paderborn defence. Nadiem Amiri almost did it with 10 minutes to go but fired narrowly wide as Bayer 04 slipped to a 2-1 defeat but learned some valuable lessons in the first game of pre-season.
Alonso and his team head off to their training camp in Saalfelden, Austria on Sunday, 23 July. They will then go directly to San Sebastian in Spain on Friday, 28 July for the second friendly against Champions League qualifiers Real Sociedad. The game on Saturday, 29 July kicks off at 18:00 CEST at the Estadio Reale Arena.
Match stats:
Bayer 04: Hradecky (Pentz 45') - Frimpong (Puerta 65'), Tapsoba (Fosu-Mensah 73'), Kossounou (Monamay 45'), Grimaldo (Bäuerle 65') - Palacios (Mbamba 45'), Xhaka (Marsenic 73') - Hofmann (Arthur 45'), Wirtz (Demirbay 45'), Adli (Amiri 45') - Azmoun (Hlozek 45')
Paderborn: Huth - Schuster, Musliu, Hoffmeier - Curda, Klefisch (Hansen 72'), Rohr, Ezekwem - Kinsombi, Bilbija, Muslija
Goals: 1-0 Azmoun (40'), 1-1 Muslija (45'), 1-2 Bilbija (58')
Yellow card: Musliu
Referee: Nico Fuchs
Attendance: 1,890 at the IMS Arena in Velbert
Bayer 04 Leverkusen and sponsors club partner NRG24 are continuing their partnership, which has been in place since the summer of 2023. The Bundesliga football club and the energy consultancy firm have extended their successful partnership until 30 June 2027.
Show more
Bayer 04 host VfB Stuttgart at the BayArena on matchday 8 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season. The game will be played on Halloween on Saturday, 31 October with the a 15:30 CET kick-off. The latest information on ticket sales.
Show more
Bayer 04 host SC Paderborn at the BayArena on matchday 10 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season. The game against the newly promoted team is on Saturday, 21 November with the a 15:30 CET kick-off. The latest information on ticket sales.
Show more
“School education: a key to success in a sporting career?” – this and other questions relating to dual training in sport, particularly in football, took centre stage at the EDU-DC Conference at the BayArena. The event, held in the Premium Lounge, brought together experts from top clubs and associations from 24 nations, including England, Spain, Germany and the Netherlands. Representatives from Bayer 04 and TSV Bayer 04 provided insights into the interplay between school and sport at the Werkself.
Show more
Werkself-TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04 Women's 2-0 win at Viktoria Berlin in the first round of the women's DFB-Pokal 2026/27
Show more
