Since the start of the week Heiko Herrlich has had a much reduced squad at his disposal. Numerous Bayer 04 players are away on international duty or sidelined through injury. And that was still the case on Thursday afternoon in the friendly against VfL Bochum. While there were several established players in the starting line-up they had hardly or not at all been used in recent weeks. For example, Lars Bender. After a long injury lay-off the Bochum game was intended to give him an hour's match practice while his twin brother Sven was rested because of problems with his ribs. "It's good that Lars is finally able to train again without any problems. He did very well today and showed over 60 minutes what we expect of him. But we didn't want to take any risks of causing any new injury," explained Herrlich.
FOCUS ON MATCH PRACTICE
The match at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium saw Bochum first out of the blocks and they had their first big chance after a minute. The Bayer 04 reserve keeper Ramazan Özcan was able to save the shot from the Bochum striker Johannes Wurtz. However, the former Austria goalkeeper had to pick the ball at the back of his net when VfL striker Lukas Hinterseer remained calm as he converted a cross from the right from close range to give the second division side a 1-0 lead on three minutes.
The Werkself, with U19 player Jan Boller in the side at right back, produced some attacking football at times but were unable to turn the created chances into goals as has been the case in recent matches. It was a different story for the team coached by Ismail Atalan: Bochum were uncompromising when they seized on loss of possession in the left midfield. Wurtz hit an unstoppable low shot from the edge of the box into the bottom left corner of the goal – 2-0 for the visitors on 19 minutes. Bender had the chance to pull a goal back with a powerful header just before the break but the Bochum keeper Felix Dornebusch was in top form as he pulled off a great reflex save to maintain his clean sheet. The Black and Reds went into the half-time break 2-0 down.
ALL CHANGE FOR THE SECOND HALF
The 800 supporters of the match saw a flowing game of football in the second half with chances for both sides – and that was with Herrlich bringing on five more U19 players. The best chances for the Werkself came from a powerful free kick from Leon Bailey on 73 minutes and a long-range effort from substitute U19 player Ömer Tokac on 86 minutes but both shots hit the bar of the VfL goal. Marlon Frey had more luck for Bayer 04 on 69 minutes when he pulled a goal back with a fine shot from the left side of the penalty area into the far corner. Just before the end of the game reserve keeper Niklas Lomb prevented a third goal against the Werkself when he saved a point-blank header on the line. The game ended in a 2-1 defeat for Bayer 04. "Despite the many changes in the second half I'm happy with the performance – in contrast to the first half," was the analysis of Heiko Herrlich.
Bayer 04: Özcan (Lomb 46’) – Boller (Stappmann 63’), Kohr, Ramalho – L. Bender (Shala 63’), Frey (Samoura 72’)– Bellarabi (Stanilewicz 46’), Wendell – Volland (Tokac 72’), Kießling, Bailey
Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personalised Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month…
Show more
"In every ending lies a new beginning" is a well-known saying. This phrase has probably never been more apt at Bayer 04. After winning the Bundesliga in 2023/24 and finishing as runners-up in 2024/25, the summer was the most eventful ever in terms of transfers. Over ten players and the coach, including the coaching staff, left the club. A lot of the heroes of the double-winning side began a new chapter. It was the end of an era. And at the same time the beginning of a new, very exciting and promising chapter for Leverkusen. The Werkself welcomed more than a dozen new arrivals, including experienced title-winners and young talents, to build a new "foundation for a successful team capable of winning titles" under the Bayer Cross, as managing director sport Simon Rolfes put it. A new spirit, a new hunger, a new story was to be created. Bayer04.de looks back at the first few months of this story and the final act of the preseason.
Show more
43 points at the end of the last Bundesliga season were not only more than ever before for the Bayer 04 Women, but also led to a record fourth-place finish. That was followed by a Hinrunde with many more victories, but also some setbacks. In an interview with bayer04.de, sporting director Achim Feifel takes stock at the end of the year.
Show more
With their wonderful goals, Martin Terrier and Florian Wirtz are up for the Bundesliga Goal of the Year 2025. Voting for fans will run exclusively via the official Bundesliga app until Sunday, 4 January.
Show more
A record-breaking year ends for the Bayer 04 Women. Fourth place, 13 wins and 43 points in the 2024/25 campaign - the Werkself have never been so good in the Bundesliga. Coach Roberto Pätzold's team also had plenty of reasons to celebrate in the first half of the new Bundesliga season - although there were also a few disappointments. A look back at 2025 for the Bayer 04 Women’s team.
Show more
