Germany had a less arduous task than Austria. Without Jonathan Tah and Florian Wirtz in the starting eleven, Germany produced a dominant performance and with 80 per cent possession they took an early lead. Leon Goretzka made it 1-0 on three minutes with an impressive move involving Joshua Kimmich and Serge Gnabry and a former Leverkusen player struck four minutes later. With build-up play from Leroy Sané, who was a Bayer 04 youth player from 2011 to 2013, Kai Havertz doubled the lead.
The picture changed slightly after the break: The visitors from Iceland were more defensive at the start but they did not pose a real threat to the German team in black. Ilkay Gündogan scored the third goal on 55 minutes. Jonathan Tah and Florian Wirtz did not play.
Aleksandar Dragovic was on the pitch for 90 minutes. Austria twice took the lead in Glasgow through Stuttgart’s Sasa Kalajdzic but the Scots were able to level twice. The game ended all square at 2-2.
The Leverkusen trio are back in action in World Cup qualifiers on Sunday 28 March. While Germany with Jonathan Tah and Florian Wirtz face Romania in Bucharest, Austria with Aleksandar Dragovic play the Faroe Islands in Vienna. Both games kick off at 20.45 CEST.
Alejo Sarco has left Bayer 04 Leverkusen to join Sporting Gijón in Spain’s second division. Bayer 04 have secured a buy-back clause for the 20-year-old Argentine striker, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Borussia Mönchengladbach.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have signed 16-year-old midfield prospect Gabriel Minutillo on a long-term contract. The Germany youth international will play for the U19s this season.
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Bayer 04 preparations for the 2026/27 season are in full swing, with the first friendly now under their belts. Although there are still around seven weeks to go until the first Bundesliga home game in early September, there is already huge anticipation for the start of competitive action for head coach Carles Martínez’s team at the BayArena. For the Bundesliga home matches of the new season, here is the latest information regarding the first phase of single-match ticket sales. The tried-and-tested early-bird phase remains in place. From 23 to 31 July, tickets for matches will go on sale on weekdays; the early-bird phase ends on 5 August at the latest – provided tickets are still available by then.
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Bayer 04 will have to manage without forward Eliesse Ben Seghir for the time being.
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