The first Bayer 04 players involved in this year's pan-European Championship were the Finns Lukas Hradecky and Joel Pohjanpalo, who was on loan at Union Berlin last season. The Eagle Owls faced Denmark in Copenhagen. However, the first match for Finland in a major football tournament was dominated by a shocking incident on the pitch.
The Danish world-class player Christian Eriksen collapsed a few minutes before the half-time whistle and he had to be resuscitated on the pitch. The midfielder with the Italian champions Inter Milan is now in a stable condition. Eriksen sounded the all clear himself from hospital saying "I feel better." Bayer 04 wish him a full and speedy recovery.
After an interruption of almost two hours, with the Danish players in contact with Eriksen, the game continued. Over the course of the second half, the two Leverkusen players played a decisive role on the pitch at the Parken Stadium: Pohjanpalo headed the opening goal on 59 minutes and a quarter of an hour later Hradecky saved a penalty from Denmark's Pierre-Emile Höjbjerg – to secure the three points. Finland held on to the 1-0 scoreline in the closing minutes. Russia are their next opponents on Wednesday, 16 June (kick-off:15.00 CEST)
Aleksandar Dragovic and Julian Baumgartlinger started the Euro 2020 finals exactly 24 hours after their teammates. The Leverkusen duo were with Austria in Bucharest for the game against Euro newcomers North Macedonia who proved to be a hard nut to crack. Attacking stalwart Goren Pandev equalised on 28 minutes after Austria full-back Stefan Lainer opened the scoring (18'). The two sides went into the break with a surprising 1-1 scoreline.
Dragovic did not reappear for the second half after suffering a cut from an elbow in the first 45. The 30-year-old, who will be playing for Red Star Belgrade next season, was able to enjoy the deserved victory from the sidelines. Michael Gregoritsch (78’) and Mark Arnautovic (89') sealed the first-ever European Championship finals win for Austria.
Good news: Baumgartlinger, sidelined for four months following a cruciate operation at the end of January, came on in added time. The 33-year-old took the captain's armband. A nice moment at the end of a successful Euro 2020 opening match for Austria. Baumi, Drago and Co. are back in action against the Netherlands on Thursday, 17 June (kick-off: 21.00 CEST).
The Czech Republic started the new Euro 2020 week against Scotland with the Werkself centre forward Patrik Schick in the line-up. Only a quarter of an hour had gone in the match in Glasgow when our number 14 had a great chance. But the Scotland keeper David Marshall made the save.
The Bayer 04 striker was clinical shortly before the half-time whistle: Schick converted a cross from the right with an excellent header to open the scoring on 42 minutes. And it got even better on this afternoon! Seven minutes after the restart, Schick saw that Marshall was a long way out of his goal. The Czech front man tried his luck from the halfway line and doubled the scoreline at 2-0 from almost 50 yards out – a stroke of genius.
His intention of, "supporting the team on the pitch with as many goals as possible", has been put into practice early on in the tournament by the Leverkusen forward. And one thing is certain: Schick will again be keen to score against the Croats on Friday, 18 June (kick-off: 18.00 CEST)...
Werkself-TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 4-0 win at Wehen Wiesbaden in the first round of the DFB-Pokal 2026/27...
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Bayer 04 have comfortably reached the DFB Pokal second round thanks to a 4–0 victory away to Liga 3 side SV Wehen Wiesbaden. Patrik Schick put the Werkself ahead in the first 45 in the first competitive match under head coach Carles Martínez with debuts for new signings Miguel Gutiérrez, Afonso Moreira and Facundo Medina. After the break, Lucas Vázquez (47'), Nathan Tella (69') and Christian Kofane (79') also found the back of the net.
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Today brings the first match of the season for the Werkself. Bayer 04 kick off the 2026/27 campaign today, Saturday 22 August, at 13:00 CEST with a first-round DFB Pokal tie away to third-tier side SV Wehen Wiesbaden. The 3,700 travelling fans can not only look forward to what will hopefully be a successful start to the season, but also now organise their journeys to Black and Reds games even more easily via the WERKSELFgo car-share platform. Meanwhile, following two defeats at the start of the league season, SV Wehen are hoping to spring a surprise in the DFB Pokal tie. Today’s matchday news.
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Carolin Simon is the new captain of the Bayer 04 women’s team. The full-back, who joined from Bayern Munich in the summer, will take over the captain’s armband for the 2026/27 season. Simon returned to Leverkusen in the summer after ten years away. The 33-year-old succeeds goalkeeper Friederike Repohl, who retired at the end of last season.
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