The hosts were the livelier team as the game progressed and they looked more dangerous up front. Bayer 04 keeper Lukas Hradecky had a number of chances to distinguish himself (1’/3’/27’). However, the Finnish keeper was beaten on 33 minutes: Vincenco Grifo converted a penalty with a Panenka to make it 1-0 after the ball struck Jeremie Frimpong on the arm. The Seoane team initially failed to provide a response. Leverkusen struck in added time at the end of the first 45: Charles Aránguiz headed in from an overhead assist from Jonathan Tah. In the second half, the Werkself were increasingly ambitious going forwards. However, there was a lack of penetration and Freiburg also defended very well. Just as both teams appeared to have settled for a point, the Sport Club scored again: Ermedin Demirovic crossed from the right wing for Kevin Schade to run in and turn the ball into the net to make it 2-1 (84'). HERE is the match report.
"We didn't start well but then upped our game in the second half. In the end it's obviously disappointing not to get a result here," was the assessment of the game by central defender Tah. It was "much too easy" for Freiburg to make it 2-1. "We can't always use the excuse that we're a young team," declared the 25-year-old before adding: "We just have to be more consistent and determined." And midfielder Robert Andrich also judged that the Werkself had a "bad first half." The Potsdam-born midfielder added: "We had big plans for the second half but ended up empty-handed again after losing 2-1."
Head coach Gerardo Seoane added: "We lost the plot after conceding at 2-1 and were unable to turn the game around." The second half was significantly better although the Black and Reds were unable to press home their advantage. "There were situations where crosses did not find any takers," explained the Swiss coach.
Aránguiz scored his first goal of the season on Sunday in the final match in the first half of the league campaign. The Chilean midfielder, who was sidelined for several weeks after a calf injury in the middle of October, made a total of 15 appearances up to the winter break. Provider Tah established a new personal best. It was the third assist from the defender in this Bundesliga season and that marks the highest number in a season to date for him.
At the post-match press conference, the members of the media took the end of the first half of the season as a chance to ask Gerardo Seoane to sum up his first six months in the Bundesliga. The 43-year-old responded: "We've recently struggled to take our chances and also had to overcome a number of personnel problems. But I'm basically pleased with the first half of the season and the team has taken a step forward in terms of development – although we could have had one or two more points.”
The Werkself end the first half of the Bundesliga campaign in fourth place. There have been eight wins, four draws and five defeats. With 40 goals scored, the Black and Reds currently have the third most prolific attack in the league – behind Bayern Munich (56 goals) and Borussia Dortmund (41). Gerardo Seoane has an average points per game of 1.76 after 25 matches as the Bayer 04 coach. Patrik Schick (16 goals) is the second highest goalscorer behind Robert Lewandowski (19). Florian Wirtz has provided the second highest number of assists (8) in Germany's top flight – with only Thomas Müller (13) being more successful. In terms of shots saved, Lukas Hradecky is top of the rankings – the Finland international is in top spot with 72 saves ahead of SC Freiburg keeper Mark Flekken (67) and VfL Bochum's Manuel Riemann (66).
Kicker states that Freiburg had more ambition and comes to the conclusion that it was a "deserved home win" for the team from the Breisgau. The teams then "neutralised" each other in the second half. In addition, the football journal assesses Tah's self-criticism ("We have to have more of a winning mentality") after the final whistle as a positive insight. The Rheinische Post takes up the analysis of Andrich ("We're conceding far too many goals") and identifies "naive" defending by the Seoane team. The Werkself players with the best marks in the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger are Tah, Aránguiz and Frimpong (each with a 3). BILD judges that SC Freiburg are "the team of the first half of the season." And that Leverkusen have "spoiled Christmas" with the defeat.
The match in the Breisgau was the last game of the year for the Werkself. There is now a short winter break before the start of the second half of the season on Saturday, 8 January (kick-off: 15.30 CET) with the Bundesliga home game against Union Berlin. The first away fixture for the Black and Reds in the New Year is at Borussia Mönchengladbach (15 January, kick-off: 18.30 CET). "The time off is important to recover physical and mental freshness ahead of the second half of the season," said Tah in an interview on DAZN.
With 22 days to go until the start of the Bundesliga campaign, the Bayer 04 Women’s team have gained a fresh boost of confidence. In a friendly against Belgian top-flight side KRC Genk on Saturday afternoon, coach Roberto Pätzold’s team secured a 1–0 win. Lobke Loonen (20’) scored the winner for the Black and Reds at the Kurtekotten training centre.
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A successful fourth preseason friendly ahead of the start of the training camp: The Werkself secured a 3-0 victory over Rot-Weiss Essen at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. The goals in what was a commanding and dominant performance by Leverkusen from the outset were scored by Ibrahim Maza (8'), Patrik Schick from the penalty spot (23’) and, in the second half, Montrell Culbreath with a header (79’). The team set off for their training camp in Blankenhain in the Weimarer Land region after the game.
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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 personal 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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You have voted – your ‘Team of the Quarter-Century’ has been decided! This historic selection, covering the period from 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2024, features honorary captains, Bundesliga champions, double winners and Champions League finalists. Edmond Tapsoba is the only player from the current Bayer 04 squad to make it into the starting XI, while his team-mate Patrik Schick is on the bench. Simon Rolfes, the current managing director sport, is also in the lie-up. A truly special team that brings together a quarter of a century of Bayer 04 history – and has left a decisive mark on the club.
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Following Patrik Schick, Mark Flekken, Ibrahim Maza and Kerim Alajbegovic earlier this week, the next World Cup participant is back on the training ground in Leverkusen: On Thursday 30 July, Malik Tillman rejoined the squad, completing his first training session under head coach Carles Martínez.
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