Head coach Xabi Alonso made five changes to his starting line-up after the goalless draw against Borussia Mönchengladbach.Captain Lukas Hradecky returned in goal in place of Matej Kovar. Jonathan Tah came back into the defence after suspension, Robert Andrich played alongside Granit Xhaka in holding midfield. And Tella came in for Jeremie Frimponng on the wing, with Adam Hlozek and new signing Iglesias starting up front in place of Patrik Schick and Jonas Hofmann. The hosts initially had the upper hand in Darmstadt, with Gerrit Holtmann trying a long range effort after just 18 seconds. The best chance for the Werkself came after the opening 15 minutes that was dominated by tough challenges. Alejandro Grimaldo put the ball through to the unmarked Hlozek in the penalty area but his effort went past the right upright. The Lilies came again on 24 minutes as Luca Pfeiffer tested Hradecky from 12 yards out.
The hosts were committed and competitive, which caused the Black and Reds problems at times. The Werkself initially struggled against the aggressive Lilies and, in spite of dominating possession, they rarely posed a danger in the final third. But an attack down the left on 33 minutes produced the lead for the Werkself as Grimaldo hit an accurate cross to the far post where Tella headed the ball into the net to make it 1-0. At the other end, Darmstadt's Matej Maglica headed goalwards from a corner but Hradecky made the save. Andrich almost scored the next goal on 42 minutes but he was denied by Darmstadt keeper Marcel Schuhen. And it was the same again just before the end of the first 45 when Florian Wirtz hit a shot at goal from 14 yard out as Leverkusen took a narrow lead into half-time.
There were no changes at the break for either side and the Werkself soon doubled their advantage. Xhaka passed to Wirtz in midfield to launch an attack and the Leverkusen No.10 put the ball through to Tella in the box who fired it into the roof of the net to double the lead.
The visitors dominated proceedings from that point and moved the ball around while denying Darmstadt the chance to launch attacks. Wirtz almost benefited from an error in the opposition defence on 76 minutes but his shot hit the woodwork. There were lots of substitutions, including Hofmann, Edmond Tapsoba - back from AFCON duty - and Noah Mbamba, and other interruptions to play disrupted the flow of the game towards the end of the match. Iglesias just missed out on a third goal in added time. The Werkself remained alert to the end to secure all three points in Darmstadt and remain two points clear at the Bundesliga summit.
Bayer 04 are back in action in three days time. The BayArena is the stage for the DFB-Pokal quarter-final tie against VfB Stuttgart on Tuesday 6 February (kick-off: 20:45 CET). That is followed by the top game on Bundesliga Matchday 21 against Bayern Munich. The BayArena is again the venue on Saturday 10 February at 18:30.
Match stats:
Darmstadt: Schuhen - Bader, Zimmermann, Maglica (Klarer 81’) - Holtmann (Polter 66’), Franjic (Müller 81’), Holland (Mehlem 67’), Karic - Vilhelmsson (Torsiello 67’), Pfeiffer, Skarke
Bayer 04: Hradecky - Stanisic, Tah, Hincapie - Tella, Xhaka (Tapsoba 88’), Andrich, Grimaldo - Hlozek (Mbamba 90+3’), Wirtz (Hofmann 77’) - Iglesias
Goals: 1-0 Tella (33'), 2-0 Tella (52')
Yellow cards: Andrich, Hlozek - Zimmermann, Franjic
Referee: Tobias Reichel (Sindelfingen)
Attendance: 17,810 (sold out) at the Merck-Stadion am Böllenfalltor
After eight years in the youth set-up at Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Benjamin Adam is leaving the club. The 35-year-old, who most recently coached the Leverkusen U17s, will take charge of the Hansa Rostock U19 team next season.
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There was a successful end to the women's internationals with Werkself players Carlotta Wamser and Cornelia Kramer qualifying for the 2027 World Cup finals in Brazil. A third Leverkusen player is still in with a chance of joining them. The Germany U23 players also experienced success in their last two international friendlies of the season.
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Traveling to North America for the World Cup this summer to see your favorite Bayer 04 players? Here’s a quick cheat sheet with thumbnail portraits and insider tips for each city from a local expert, so you can make the most of your visit and activities beyond the game!
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A fresh look for the BayArena: The Bayer 04 stadium will have new seating in the form of folding seats for the 2026/27 campaign that will ensure significantly improved seating comfort and simplified movement within the rows of seats. As part of routine replacement after 17 years, fans of the Werkself were able to purchase the existing seats, used to witness the first German league title in the club's history. In addition, a large proportion of the seats will be donated to charitable projects, primarily in the local region. Bayer 04 fans can look forward to new, functional folding seats for the season opener at the beginning of August - still in the club colours of black and red, of course. A glimpse at the BayArena during the refurbishment.
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