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
Video game producer Electronic Arts (EA) has announced the nominees for the Men's and Women's Team of the Year (TOTY) for EA Sports FC 26. With Patrik Schick and Alejandro Grimaldo for the men and Vanessa Fudalla for the women, there are three Bayer 04 players included. Fans of the Black-and-Reds can vote for each top XI of 2025 from now until 18:59 CET on Monday 12 January.
Show more
The Werkself host Mainz at the BayArena on matchday 24 in the 2025/26 Bundesliga season. The match is on Saturday, 28 February, at 15:30 CET. Information on ticket sales.
Show more
The long-standing successful collaboration between Bayer 04 and the transport service provider wupsi GmbH has been expanded: From January 2026, 100 wupsi bikes with Bayer 04 branding will be available for hire throughout the city of Leverkusen. They will complement the many existing offers and services that provide key support, especially for fans travelling to and from home matches at the BayArena.
Show more
The Werkself are back! Following the two-week winter break, head coach Kasper Hjulmand's team began the new year with an open session on Sunday. After Robert Andrich and his teammates arrived in Leverkusen yesterday for the official check-in, they got back down to business a day later in front of around 1,200 fans at the Ulrich Haberland Stadion. The report from the Werkself's first session of 2026.
Show more
