“Of course, two points after two games isn’t much but the opening fixtures were tough,” explained the Dutchman at the pre-match press conference. The opening match produced a 0-0 draw at VfL Wolfsburg followed by a 1-1 draw against RB Leipzig. “They were strong opponents. What was important to me: We played really well against Leipzig.” After the short preseason in the summer, Peter Bosz has identified a continual improvement in his team in terms of the quality of their game.
VfB Stuttgart have picked up one more point in their first two matches than Bayer 04, who have won 16 out of the last 17 against the next opponents. After the 3-2 defeat against Freiburg in the first Bundesliga match since returning to the top division, the team under coach Pellegrino Matarazzo secured a convincing 4-1 win at Mainz at the weekend.
Bosz and Co. know all about the Swabians from last season’s Round of 16 tie in the DFB Cup. The Werkself came out on top with a narrow 2-1 win en route to the final. “They’re a good team,” said the 56-year-old. “They transition well, have good players in midfield and are are well-balanced as a result. For me they are a team that will have no problems in the Bundesliga due to their quality.”
All the Werkself squad took part in the training session on Thursday with the exception of Paulinho who is still in rehab recovering from his torn cruciate at the start of July. Bosz said his new signing Santiago Arias (Atlético Madrid) has trained well this week. “We’ll have to wait and see if he’s match fit,” reported the Dutchman on Friday. “We’ll see what happens in today’s session as to whether they are all available for the Stuttgart game.”
Match information:
Broadcasters: Sky and Werks11 Radio (bayer04.de)
Referee: The match officials will be announced on the day of the game
Attendance: 8,500
The European jersey has been launched, the UEL opponents have been drawn – and anticipation for the European campaign is running high. To mark the occasion, an autograph session was held on Friday afternoon, 28 August, at the Fanwelt with current Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and official club legend Paulo Sergio.
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After six and a half years, Exequiel Palacios is leaving the Bundesliga and moving from Bayer 04 to the Premier League. The Argentine, who as a Werkself player won the World Cup with his national team four years ago and finished as runners-up at this summer’s tournament, will play for newly promoted English side Ipswich Town with immediate effect. The 27-year-old, whose contract in Leverkusen was due to run until 30 June 2030, joined Bayer 04 in January 2020 as a promising young talent. He steadily developed into one of the best defensive midfielders in the German top flight.
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When Exequiel Palacios moved from the Argentinian club River Plate to Bayer Leverkusen on 1 January 2020, the then 21-year-old could not have imagined just how successful the next six and a half years would be for him. Pala, as he is known, had already won the Copa Libertadores – the most prestigious competition in South American club football – with River Plate. But there were still so many more trophies to come.
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To mark Exequiel Palacios’s departure, we’ve put together a compilation of the midfielder’s finest and most important goals from his six-and-a-half years at the club.
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