With the international players Charles Aránguiz, Leon Bailey, Julian Baumgartlinger, Aleksandar Dragovic, Kai Havertz, Lukas Hradecky, Tin Jedvaj, Jonathan Tah and Paulinho still away on holiday, Peter Bosz brought in seven U19 players Ayman Azhil, Jan Boller, Kevin Bukusu, Yannik Schlößer, Adrian Stanilewicz, Cem Türkmen and Marco Wolf for the trip to Wuppertal. The Werkself head coach fielded two different teams with each due to play 45 minutes against the team that finished sixth in the Regional League last season – every player was to have the same time on the pitch.
With new signings Kerem Demirbay and Daley Sinkgraven in the starting eleven, the Werkself looked lively from the start against WSV. Schlößer and Azhil missed chances to give the Werkself an early lead and Demirbay, fully committed to the cause, only found the inside of the post with a shot from a tight angle. It took 26 minutes until the deadlock was broken when Karim Bellarabi ended an individual run with a right-foot shot into the far corner to give the Bosz boys the first chance to celebrate in front of a crowd of 2,400. Ten minutes later, Demirbay beat three Wuppertal players before providing a pinpoint cross into the box for Kevin Volland to easily convert a chance from eight yards out. Demirbay provided a second assist just before the break – the captain Lars Bender tucked the ball into the net from a corner taken by the new Werkself number 10. Bayer 04 took a 3-0 lead into the half-time break.
With a completely different line-up – including new signing Moussa Diaby buzzing around in central midfield – the Werkself remained on top in the second half with only occasional attempted attacks by the fourth division side. In spite of a lot of good chances, the ball was only in the back of the Wuppertal net once more: The WSV keeper Niklas Lübcke parried a shot from Mitchell Weiser only for Joel Pohjanpalo to round off the scoring at 4-0 with a tap-in (74'). "I think we can be very happy with our performance – also because it was very hot today. I'm glad I scored a goal but the most important thing is that everybody remained fit after the game," said Karim Bellarabi who made his first appearance after his recent injury lay-off.
Bayer 04 (First half): Özcan, L. Bender, S. Bender, Bukusu, Sinkgraven – Onur, Demirbay – Bellarabi, Azhil, Schlößer – Volland
Bayer 04 (Second half): Lomb – Weiser, Boller, Retsos, Wendell – Türkmen, Stanilewicz – Wolf, Diaby (Azhil 83’), Pohjanpalo – Alario
Bayer 04 have ended Artem Stepanov’s loan deal at Nürnberg and agreed a new loan to Utrecht in the Netherlands. The Ukrainian striker did not play as much as hoped for at the Bundesliga 2 club and will now continue his development in the Eredivisie for the rest of 2025/26.
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Following on from the emotional last-minute win at Union Berlin, the Bayer 04 Women now face a promoted team: On Saturday, 31 January (12:00 CET), coach Roberto Pätzold's team welcome FC Nürnberg to the Ulrich Haberland Stadium for their first home game of the new year. In their second season in the Bundesliga, the Franconians have impressed with 16 points from the first 15 games.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended the contract with Germany U19 international Montrell Culbreath. The attacking midfielder and right winger has penned a deal with the Bundesliga club that runs to 30 June 2030. Culbreath has played for the Werkself as a youth player since 2023. Last December, he scored his first Bundesliga goal for the Leverkusen first team in the Bayer 04 3-1 away win at RB Leipzig.
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The Werkself's 3-0 victory over Villarreal in the UEFA Champions League certainly left many happy faces: Malik Tillman was delighted with his brace, Robert Andrich with the clean sheet and coach Kasper Hjulmand with the "manner" of this significant home win. With an overwhelming superiority and over 75 per cent possession at times, Bayer 04 deserved their place in the UCL play-off round. They will face a familiar foe in February. The Werkself review.
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