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
After being nominated for the Bundesliga Goal of the Year 2025, Martin Terrier's wonderful strike for the opener against FC Köln is now also up for selection for the ARD Sportschau Goal of the Month award for December 2025. Bayer 04 fans have until 19:00 CET on 10 January to vote for the French forward.
Show more
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
