Before the game, Heiko Herrlich announced he was picking two different sides for the friendlies against Fürth and Münster to give all his players the chance to get time on the pitch. With the exception of second choice keeper Niklas Lomb, the team against the second division club included five U19 players on the bench in Jakub Bednarczyk, Hajdar Shala, Sam Schreck, Güven Yalcin and Atakan Akkaynak. Most of the action on the pitch took place in the Fürth half with Bayer 04 clearly on top – and the opener soon followed. With six minutes on the clock, a shot from Kevin Volland was blocked but Dominik Kohr was on hand to put the ball in the back of the net. After that, the goalscorer and Kai Havertz missed a number of decent chances to extend the lead but the Werkself were not sharp enough in converting those goalscoring opportunities. That failed to impress the coach. In the middle of the first half, Heiko Herrlich's voice was clearly to be heard throughout the Haberland Stadium as he shouted, "Blimey, put the ball in the net!"
Otherwise, the hosts looked impressive in the first outing of the New Year as they were alert in moving back and winning the ball, they passed accurately and patiently through their ranks and were able to up the tempo as required. After the restart, Kevin Volland and Admir Mehmedi missed good chances before Julian Brandt finally doubled the lead from close range on 66 minutes. Volland provided the assist. Mehmedi missed a final great chance to extend the winning margin from a few yards out just before the final whistle. Almost immediately, the visitors from Fürth netted a leveller through Cigerci in the final minute to make the score 2-1 with Bernd Leno unable to save a well-placed shot into the far corner. With the exception of one change - Jakub Bednarczyk replaced skipper Lars Bender with 15 minutes to play - Heiko Herrlich allowed all his players to go the full distance.
Bayer 04: Leno – Tah, S. Bender, Retsos – L. Bender (Bednarczyk 76’), Kohr, Baumgartlinger, Mehmedi – Havertz, Volland, Brandt
Bayer 04 will be preparing young talents for a potential sporting career in an even more systematic way in future. The club is breaking new ground to help develop their academic, social and personal skills as well. With the ‘Haus der Talente' or 'Talent House’, Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH is creating a new centre for the development of young athletes in a central location in Leverkusen. Once completed – expected to be in the summer of 2027 – the project will be run in partnership with TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen e.V.
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Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 1-3 loss against Werder Bremen on the 26th matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2025/26.
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Bayer 04 Women have finished in fifth place after the best Bundesliga season in the club's history in terms of points. Roberto Pätzold's side went down 3-1 at home to SV Werder Bremen on the final matchday. With 46 points and 15 wins, they've bettered the previous record campaign of 2024/25. Despite periods of pressure, Cornelia Kramer's 73rd-minute strike was not enough at the Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion, and the Werkself miss out on European qualification despite a strong end to the season.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have agreed a conract extension with home-grown talent Sofie Zdebel by a further year ahead of schedule. The 21-year-old Germany U23 international will stay at the club until 30 June 2028.
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