After the Werkself gathered for recovery and match replacement training plus the first post-match analysis the day after the 4-2 defeat against RB Leipzig, head coach Peter Bosz continued working with his players in open sessions on Monday and Tuesday.
Good news for Bayer 04: Kevin Volland, who missed training at the start of the week due to a cold, was back on the training ground on Tuesday. Together with fitness coach Daniel Jouvin, the Werkself striker completed an individual session on the neighbouring pitch. He was later joined by Jonathan Tah and Lars Bender after the pair had completed the first part of the training session together with their team-mates. Both Tah (workload control) and the skipper Bender, who has been sidelined with a hamstring problem recently, both trained on their own on Monday. The same applied to Leon Bailey on Tuesday. The Jamaican was given a special fitness program by the coaching staff which involved a session in the gym at the BayArena in the morning.
In contrast to the quartet, who should be available for the game at Stuttgart, this season has already come to an end for Joel Pohjanpalo. The 24-year-old, who recently returned to training and celebrated his comeback in the friendly against Ajax after eight months sidelined through injury, complained about pain in his right ankle. In the view of the medical section, there is no alternative to a long lay-off for the Finland international albeit the apparent set-back does represent a further improvement in the health of the bone structure in his foot. That means the Werkself will be without a second player for the rest of the campaign with Karim Bellarabi also ruled out due to injury.
There is no full training session on Wednesday and the final two ahead of the Stuttgart match on Saturday will be held behind closed doors.
The second international break of the 2025/26 season will begin after the Bundesliga match against Union Berlin (Saturday, 4 October, 15:30 CEST). The latest information on call-ups.
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Alejo Sarco and Argentina won their second group match at the U20 World Cup in Chile on Wednesday night. They beat Australia 4-1 with Sarco setting the tone early with a goal in the third minute. As in the first group game against Cuba, where Sarco scored twice, the 19-year-old was also named "Player of the Match" against Australia.
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Second game, second draw in the UEFA Champions League 2025/26: The Werkself were held to a 1-1 draw by Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven on matchday two in the league phase. After an early but brief setback in the form of an offside goal by Ivan Perisic for the visitors (5'), the Werkself took control and created numerous good chances in the first half. Leverkusen took a deserved lead after the break in the 65th minute through Christian Kofane. However, PSV's Ismael Saibari replied a few minutes later to level at 1-1 (72').
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In the second match in the league phase of the UEFA Champions League 2025/26, the Werkself host PSV Eindhoven this Wednesday evening, 1 October (kick-off: 21:00 CEST/live on DAZN and on Werkself Radio). PSV have injury problems but are in confident mood after winning two consecutive league titles. PSV coach Peter Bosz and keeper Matej Kovar are two familiar faces who have fond memories of their Bayer 04 days. The latest information on the UCL match at the BayArena can be found in out matchday news.
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Bayer 04 beat PSV Eindhoven 3-2 on matchday two to clock up the next three points in the UCL Youth League 2025/26. In front of just under 500 spectators at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium, the visitors from the Netherlands led at half-time, but the Werkself turned the game round in the second 45. That makes it two wins on the bounce after the victory in Copenhagen.
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