Head coach Peter Bosz made six changes to the side that lost 4-1 at home to VfL Wolfsburg. Mitchell Weiser, Edmond Tapsoba, Wendell, Kerem Demirbay, Karim Bellarabi and Moussa Diaby dropped down to the bench. They were replaced at Freiburg by Jonathan Tah, with his first appearance since the restart, Aleksandar Dragovic, Daley Sinkgraven, Florian Wirtz, Leon Bailey and Julian Baumgartlinger. The last named wore the captain's armband tonight.
The hosts had the first chance on goal of the evening. Vincenzo Grifo tried his luck from long range but his effort was turned away for a corner (5'). Otherwise, the first half hour was marked by a tactical sounding out by both sides. There were no goalscoring opportunities early on, the Werkself dominated possession that reached a rate of 80 per cent. Freiburg – Streich made four changes from the line-up in the 3-3 draw at Eintracht Frankfurt – played with their usual hard-working approach and shut down space denying the Black and Reds the chance to develop attacks and create openings. The best chance of the first half fell to Freiburg's Lucas Höler just before half-time. Roland Sallai put the striker through at the right moment and he raced clear from the Leverkusen back three but his effort from the left of the Werkself goal went just inches wide of the far post (43'). A minute later, Sven Bender headed just over from a Nadiem Amiri free kick. That was the last dangerous move in the first half and Bayer 04 went into the break with the score at 0-0 for the first time in this calendar year.
There were no changes on either side at the half-time break and – as the hygiene protocol dictates – they came back onto the pitch in turn. The Werkself approach remained unchanged: possession of the ball and control of the game. An Amiri corner from the left on 53 minutes found the head of Charles Aránguiz but he was unable to steer the ball towards the goal.
Then came the lead for the Werkself – and that with the first chance of the game for the Black and Reds. After a short period of pressure from the visitors, Bailey broke through on the left at the right moment to set up Havertz who cleverly slipped the ball through the legs of the Freiburg keeper Alexander Schwolow to make it 1-0 (54'). A minute later, Wirtz had the chance to score his first Bundesliga goal: A powerful effort from the 17-year-old went just wide of the target. The ball was in the Freiburg net for the second time on 63 minutes but Baumgartlinger's header was ruled out for a push by the would-be goalscorer on Dominic Heintz.
After an overzealous challenge on the touchline, Havertz – from today the first U21 player in the history of the Bundesliga to score 35 goals – was left on the deck and had to be treated. The 20-year-old did come back on briefly. But head coach Bosz took no chances as he brought on Diaby in place of the goalscorer (66'). There was danger in the Werkself defence shortly after that. Freiburg substitute Jonathan Schmid fired in a shot from the right that flew just wide of the left upright (68').
The closing stages at the Schwarzwald Stadium witnessed a flurry of substitutions with the two coaches making a total of nine changes. With a few minutes to play, Freiburg striker Nils Peterson had a good chance: However, Petersen was unable to apply enough power to the pass from Christian Günter. Bayer 04 keeper Lukas Hradecky was able to make a comfortable save and turn the ball away for a corner (88'). That was the last chance of the game and referee Marco Fritz blew for full-time four minutes after the 90. The Werkself secured three valuable points in the race for a Champions League position.
Bayer 04 are next in action on Saturday, 6 June (kick-off: 15.30 CET) at the BayArena – also behind closed doors. League leaders Bayern Munich are the visitors to Leverkusen in the top match.
Match stats:
SC Freiburg: Schwolow – Kübler (Gulde 66'), Lienhart, Heintz, Günter – Sallai (Schmid 66'), Koch (Frantz 75'), Höfler, Grifo (Kwon 75') – Höler (Waldschmidt 75'), Petersen
Bayer 04: Hradecky – Tah, S. Bender, Dragovic – Amiri, Aránguiz, Baumgartlinger, Sinkgraven (Alario 61') – Wirtz (Tapsoba 84'), Havertz ( Diaby 66'), Bailey (Paulinho 84')
Goals: 0-1 Havertz (54’)
Referee: Marco Fritz (Korb)
Booked: Alario, Amiri
Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 1-2 loss against VfL Wolfsburg on the 2nd matchday of the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga 2026/27.
In the 3-2 defeat at Bundesliga newcomers SV 07 Elversberg, the Werkself found the back of the net in the closing stages and, with a bit of luck, could still have equalised. “Today, our play wasn’t good enough, particularly when it came to the basics,” said head coach Carles Martínez. Like the boss, Ibrahim Maza also wants to learn from the match and look ahead: “Next week, people should be able to see from the very first minute that we want it more than our opponents.” The Werkself review on the Bundesliga opener in 2026/27.
Show more
No points to start the league campaign: Bayer 04 lost 3-2 away to newly promoted SV 07 Elversberg in the first Bundesliga match of the 2026/27 campaign. Two quick-fire goals from Lukas Petkov (8’) and Cole Campbell (10’) gave the hosts an early lead, before David Mokwa scored the Saarland side’s third shortly after half-time (46’). In the closing stages, the Werkself rallied and staged a late comeback with goals from Patrik Schick (77’) and Christian Kofane (90+1’), but the Black and Reds were denied an equaliser.
Show more
The Black and Reds kick off the new Bundesliga campaign today, Saturday 29 August (kick-off 15:30 CEST), away to newly promoted SV 07 Elversberg – and the Werkself will come up against a familiar face who is currently causing a stir at ‘Elv’. For an affordable and easy journey to the Saarland, the 1,600 travelling fans can still use the WERKSELFgo car-share platform. Today’s matchday news..
Show more
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.
Show more
