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.
Bayer 04 have fond memories of their encounters with Heidenheim, including a resounding 6-0 win in the reverse fixture. Kasper Hjulmand’s side would very much like to produce a similarly clinical display as they now head to the Voith-Arena for Matchday 27 on Saturday (15:30 CET). But they come up against a team fighting for their Bundesliga lives at the bottom of the table, 10 points adrift of safety with time running out. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game in our matchday news.
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The Bayer 04 Women welcome FC Carl Zeiss Jena to the Ulrich Haberland Stadium on Sunday night in a white retro look - and in a unique Bayer 04 ‘50 Years of Fan Clubs’ special edition jersey. In sporting terms, head coach Roberto Pätzold's team will face the Bundesliga's bottom team at 18:30 CET looking to keep their chances of third place in the table alive with six games left to play.
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Bayer 04 return to Bundesliga action this weekend. Following their elimination in the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League, the Werkself are away to FC Heidenheim 1846 on Saturday, 21 March (kick-off: 15:30 CET) on Bundesliga matchday 27. Ahead of the clash in the eastern Swabian Alps, head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about the importance of the fixture and the chances of qualifying for the Champions League next term.
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A quick look at the table shows the situation at FC Heidenheim is serious. The Bundesliga bottom club are already ten points behind the play-off spot with their backs to the wall in sporting terms. With eight games left to play, avoiding relegation appears to be a mission impossible. Nevertheless, they are far from flying the white flag at the Schlossberg ahead of the clash with the Werkself this Saturday, 21 March (kick-off: 15:30 CET). The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen will have to manage without the two strikers in the immediate future. Caroline Kehrer suffered a torn ligament in her right knee and Amy Wrigge tore her cruciate ligament.
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