Alonso made two changes to his team from the 2-0 win away at Augsburg last weekend as Exequiel Palacios and Schick came in for Robert Andrich and Martin Terrier, who both dropped to the bench. After the good news that Piero Hincapie had signed a new contract until 2029, there was a minute’s silence ahead of kick-off for the victims of Friday’s shocking attack at the Christmas market in Magdeburg. The action then commenced at the BayArena with the Werkself dominant from the start and early chances for Wirtz and Edmond Tapsoba.
Freiburg started to find their feet as the game wore on and things were even as chances remained at a premium in the opening period. That was until Wirtz was taken down in the box by Ritsu Doan and the referee pointed to the spot with half an hour on the clock. However, Wirtz was denied from 12 years by Noah Atubolu. It looked like the game would remain goalless going into half-time until Wirtz played Schick through and the Czech striker produced a cool lob to open the scoring in added time.
The second half saw Bayer 04 quickly double their advantage when Wirtz turned finisher with a lovely dummy before firing inside the near post from left of goal. The cushion lasted only a couple of minutes until Vincenzo Grifo got one back for Freiburg. The lively Wirtz struck the crossbar shortly after as the rain got heavier at the BayArena before he produced a pinpoint cross for Schick to head home and make it 3-1. The last two goals of the evening and indeed the year again belonged to Schick as he bagged the second four-goal haul of his Leverkusen career.
That’s the end of the football in the club’s 120th anniversary year. The players and staff will now go and enjoy their well-deserved winter break. They’ll be back in action for 2025 with a friendly against Rot-Weiß Oberhausen on Sunday, 5 January (12pm CET), before the first competitive fixture of the new year away at Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga on Friday, 10 January (8.30pm).
Match stats:
Bayer 04: Hradecky - Tapsoba, Tah, Hincapie (Belocian 83') - Frimpong (Arthur 80'), Palacios, Xhaka, Grimaldo (Mukiele 80') - Tella (Terrier 69'), Wirtz - Schick (Garcia 80')
Freiburg: Atubolu - Kübler (Rosenfelder 75'), Ginter, Lienhart, Günter - Eggestein (Höfler 85'), Osterhage (Sildillia 75') - Doan (Röhl 58'), Höler, Grifo - Gregoritsch (Adamu 75')
Goals: 1-0 Schick (45'+1), 2-0 Wirtz (51'), 2-1 Grifo (55'), 3-1 Schick (67'), 4-1 Schick (75'), 5-1 Schick (77')
Yellow cards: Schick - Kübler, Röhl
Referee: Tobias Stieler
Attendance: 30,210 (sold out) at the BayArena
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.
Show more
Kasper Hjulmand has led the Werkself back to winning ways and is back in the knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League with Bayer 04 after the 3-0 win against Villarreal on Wednesday evening. In an interview with the Werkself magazine at the BayArena in the team meeting room, directly opposite the dressing room, he provided some special insights for the current issue, which was published in January. A conversation with the 53-year-old coach about values, attitudes and personal experiences as well as interests outside of football.
Show more
The thrilling 3-1 win for Bayer 04 against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Hinrunde is a fond memory for Alejandro Grimaldo, with his brace from free kicks, and coach Kasper Hjulmand, who was in the dugout under the Cross for the first time. Now comes the return fixture in the metropolis on the River Main and after going out of the DFB Pokal and the Champions League, the full focus at Eintracht, currently managed by two interim coaches, is now on the Bundesliga. For their part, the Werkself will do everything in their power to continue the longest winning run against a Bundesliga club. The matchday news.
Show more
Bayer 04 have ended Artem Stepanov’s loan deal at Nürnberg and agreed a new loan to Utrecht in the Netherlands. The Ukrainian striker did not play as much as hoped for at the Bundesliga 2 club and will now continue his development in the Eredivisie for the rest of 2025/26.
Show more
The draw for the knockout play-offs of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League was made on Friday, 30 January and saw Bayer 04 paired with Olympiacos. It’s a reunion with the Greek side following the Werkself’s 2-0 loss in Athens on Matchday 7 of the league phase.
Show more
