
Neither pouring rain nor soaked clothing could stop the 75-strong Bayer 04 team of sprucing up parts of the former site of the state garden show: With the support of the Friends of Neuland Park and the counselling organisation in Leverkusen, work was done in several themed gardens in terms of digging and improvement: Rolls of turf were transported, cut to shape and laid, plants supported and in places new plants put in, drainage was laid, weeds were removed, old benches dismantled and, last but not least, 80 tonnes of shells were transported and distributed along individual paths – with the help of machines but mainly through the use of shovels, wheelbarrows, rakes and countless steps.
After the morning training session, the Werkself players and coaches joined in to lend a hand to the workaholics with their improvement work.

















Prior to the day, an outdoor gym had been set up in Neuland Park consisting of four pieces of fitness training equipment for the whole body and Bayer 04 Fußball GmbH has made a financial contribution. Next year, another four pieces of fitness equipment painted black and red will be installed – and preparatory work was done on the day of action in terms of laying foundations.

It was another incredibly close call in the end: The second showdown in the 2026/27 VBL Club Championship saw the #B04eSports team once again narrowly miss out on a place in the top 16 of the preliminary round – and with it, a spot in the in-person knockout stage. It was a bitter blow: Marc and Sean Landwehr again fell just short, despite being level on points with their rivals. As was the case last month, their weaker record across the twelve individual matches in the six preliminary round fixtures proved decisive.
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“They stuck with us over the past few weeks when things weren’t going so well,” said captain Edmond Tapsoba, thanking the fans for their support after the 2–1 win in Cologne and dedicating the derby victory to them. Throughout the 90 minutes, the Werkself had looked unfazed and in command, inflicting the first home defeat of the season on FC Köln. It was the sixth consecutive win against the Cologne team for Bayer 04 – head coach Carles Martínez, on the other hand, was facing the team from the neighbouring city for the first time and “now really knows what this derby win means”. The Werkself derby review.
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Following the 2–1 derby victory away at FC Köln on Bundesliga matchday 9, Edmond Tapsoba, Malik Tillman and Aleix Garcia spoke to Werkself TV...
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Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 2-1 derby win at 1. FC Köln Matchday 9 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season...
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There were celebrations among those in black and red at the RheinEnergieSTADION. On Matchday 9 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season, the Werkself beat 1. FC Köln 2-0 and registered their sixth successive win in the derby. Aleix Garcia put Bayer 04 in front after just seven minutes with a direct free kick. Leverkusen played with discipline and energy after that and didn't allow some fierce challenges to unsettle them. Patrik Schick made it 2-0 in the 86th minute, and Said El Mala's goal in stoppage time for Köln proved nothing more than consolation. Jonas Hofmann crowned the derby win with his 100th appearance for the club.
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