It was clear to see the joy of the team from Munich when they finally kept a clean sheet after five games with their 1-0 win away to Eintracht Frankfurt. Joshua Kimmich, who brilliantly set up Leroy Sané's goal, expressed his satisfaction: "The mentality was really good today. We pushed ourselves in the last 15 minutes to avoid conceding." And coach Julian Nagelsmann also praised his team's impressive defensive work (65.7% of challenges won): "We were in the game throughout the 90 minutes." That wasn't the case in the previous five matches. That is partly due to Nagelsmann having to improvise a lot in recent weeks due to injuries and coronavirus cases. The record champions looked susceptible in defence and not just in the defeat at home to Borussia Mönchengladbach (1-2) but above all at VfL Bochum (2-4). FC Bayern also looked less than solid at times at the back in the 3-2 win against RB Leipzig and the recent convincing 4-1 victory over SpVgg Greuther Fürth. FCB have yet to reach the heights they showed in the first half of the season. Looking at the table, Germany international Kimmich said: "We've given away a bit of the cushion in recent weeks." But the lead over second-placed Borussia Dortmund remains a comfortable eight points. As we now head into the business end of the season, the next two home games against Bayer 04 in the Bundesliga and RB Salzburg in the Champions League three days later will provide real tests.
The captains are back on board: Manuel Neuer was able to do goalkeeping drills this week early than expected following his knee operation at the beginning of February but he will probably only make his comeback against RB Salzburg. Thomas Müller returned to full training after his second coronavirus infection and will be in the squad for the Leverkusen game. But the personal situation is still tricky for Bayern. Julian Nagelsmann will have to manage without defender Lucas Hernandez against Bayer 04 as he is serving a one-match ban. Also sidelined is Leon Goretzka, who has returned to individual training following complicated knee problems, but it remains to be seen when the Germany international will return. Corentin Tolisso (back in light training after a muscle injury) and left back Alphonso Davies (slight myocarditis) are not available. In contrast, Niklas Süle returned to full training on Thursday after having to miss out the session on Tuesday due to a back problem.
Robert Lewandowski, Thomas Müller, Serge Gnabry, Leroy Sané, Kingsley Coman, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, Jamal Musiala – these names personify the outstanding attacking quality of Bayern. Lewandowski is again scoring with incredible consistency this season (28 goals in 24 games), Müller is the new king of assists (16 assists, seven goals) and the other five mentioned above have netted 28 of the Munich team’s 75 goals this term. Bayern have never before scored as many after 24 games. The Werkself were able to experience FCB in full swing in the 5-1 defeat at the BayArena earlier this season.
As Nagelsmann often sends out his best five attacking players at the same time, he misses something when things don't go right in terms of substitution options. "Recently we haven't had the strength on the bench to back up that offensive power," said the Bayern coach after the win at Frankfurt. The 34-year-old coach deliberately left Leroy Sané out of the starting line-up at Eintracht for that reason. The Germany international came off the bench to score the winner four minutes after coming on – the plan worked. The FC Bayern defence has not been as commanding as in the first half of the season but, along with SC Freiburg, they have still conceded the fewest goals in the league (26) – albeit with six headed goals that does not necessarily say a lot for the aerial superiority in their own penalty area. Dayot Upamecano, who moved from RB Leipzig to Munich along with coach Julian Nagelsmann last summer, has had a few ups and downs in central defence. Marcel Sabitzer, the third signing from Leipzig, is still finding it difficult at Säbener Straße and has rarely impressed. Nagelsmann has brought the player on twice from the start recently and remains optimistic. "He has outstanding qualities. It's our job as the coaching staff to help him produce his best. He's not there yet but he's on the way."
FC Bayern are currently on course for their tenth league title in succession. And who can stop them? No other league leader has given away an eight-point lead at this point in the season. In spite of recent personnel issues, the depth in the squad is such that the Schale will most probably end up at Säbener Straße again this year. The more exciting question is what Bayern, who were knocked out of the DFB Cup in the second round (with a 5-0 defeat at Borussia Mönchengladbach), will do in the Champions League. Kimmich and Co. were impressive in the group stage with six wins from six games and, with the last-minute 1-1 draw in the Round of 16 first leg at RB Salzburg, FCB have a good chance of reaching the quarter-finals at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday 8 March. That would put them back in the exclusive line-up of usual suspects – and the top side in Germany are capable of anything in the clashes with the European football elite.
Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personalised Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month…
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"In every ending lies a new beginning" is a well-known saying. This phrase has probably never been more apt at Bayer 04. After winning the Bundesliga in 2023/24 and finishing as runners-up in 2024/25, the summer was the most eventful ever in terms of transfers. Over ten players and the coach, including the coaching staff, left the club. A lot of the heroes of the double-winning side began a new chapter. It was the end of an era. And at the same time the beginning of a new, very exciting and promising chapter for Leverkusen. The Werkself welcomed more than a dozen new arrivals, including experienced title-winners and young talents, to build a new "foundation for a successful team capable of winning titles" under the Bayer Cross, as managing director sport Simon Rolfes put it. A new spirit, a new hunger, a new story was to be created. Bayer04.de looks back at the first few months of this story and the final act of the preseason.
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43 points at the end of the last Bundesliga season were not only more than ever before for the Bayer 04 Women, but also led to a record fourth-place finish. That was followed by a Hinrunde with many more victories, but also some setbacks. In an interview with bayer04.de, sporting director Achim Feifel takes stock at the end of the year.
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With their wonderful goals, Martin Terrier and Florian Wirtz are up for the Bundesliga Goal of the Year 2025. Voting for fans will run exclusively via the official Bundesliga app until Sunday, 4 January.
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A record-breaking year ends for the Bayer 04 Women. Fourth place, 13 wins and 43 points in the 2024/25 campaign - the Werkself have never been so good in the Bundesliga. Coach Roberto Pätzold's team also had plenty of reasons to celebrate in the first half of the new Bundesliga season - although there were also a few disappointments. A look back at 2025 for the Bayer 04 Women’s team.
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