It is no surprise the focus is now increasingly on preparing for the next match just one week after the return to training. That was the case on Monday with head coach Heiko Herrlich holding two training sessions – stamina was centre stage in the first week of training session of the New Year.
Leon Bailey was able to join in with both sessions. After recovering from a virus contracted last week, the 20-year-old Jamaican was back on the training ground with the Werkself for the first time in 2018. "It's always good to be able to train with the squad. I think I picked up a cold due to the difference in climate between Jamaica and Germany. But I've recovered well, I feel fit and I'm looking forward to the forthcoming challenges with Bayer 04," said Bailey. And Karim Bellarabi, who had to go off after being kicked on the shin in Saturday's friendly against Preußen Münster (2-2), was able to complete the whole of the second session.
Stefan Kießling and Charles Aránguiz were both absent from the training ground on Monday due to being rested. The same applies to Vladlen Yurchenko, who is still in rehab training due to a foot injury, who was able to train outdoors again during the week.
Tomorrow, Tuesday at 10.30, the Werkself have open training again before a closed session on Wednesday for the final preparations before taking on Bayern Munich.
Werkself TV shows highlights of the 2-0 win at Olympiacos in the first leg of the play-offs of the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 league...
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The Werkself beat Olympiacos 2-0 in the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League play-off first leg to claim a crucial victory in the Greek capital. After a focused first-half display with a number of presentable chances, Patrik Schick crowned a textbook counter to hand the Werkself the lead on the hour (60’). The Czech rounded off his brace when he headed in from a corner just 144 seconds later. Bayer 04 maintained their lead with aplomb to achieve a good position for the return leg in Leverkusen.
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Bayer 04 and Olympiacos had only met twice before the current UEFA Champions campaign. After the encounter on Matchday 7 of this season’s league phase, the Werkself travel to face the Greek side for the second time in just four weeks for the knockout play-off first leg. The Black and Reds were dominant for large spells in mid-January but lost 2-0 after missing a number of presentable chances. The Werkself aim to do better on Wednesday night to “seize the chance for revenge,” as managing director sport Simon Rolfes put it. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game in our matchday news.
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A bitter end to the fifth showdown of the 2025/26 VBL Club Championship as the #B04eSports team failed to take any points in the three remaining matches of the preliminary online round of the fifth and final showdown, missing out on the offline round. They can no longer take points in the overall table. Bayer 04 slipped out on the top eight, so direct participation in the final event for the German Club Championship is no longer possible, with Bayer 04 having to contest the play-offs.
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