Kasper Hjulmand made five changes to the team that started last weekend’s 1-1 draw at Borussia Mönchengladbach. Loïc Badé came in for Robert Andrich in central defence, while Lucas Vázquez started on the right wing for Arthur. Exequiel Palacios, Ibrahim Maza and Poku got the nod over Ezequiel Fernández, Jonas Hofmann and Malik Tillman.
The Werkself were lively from the start on Carnival weekend. Vázquez missed the target in the early minutes, but Quansah made the breakthrough as he met a Poku cross with the help of the crossbar and goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj’s back. Barely a minute later it was 2-0 as Schick got on the end of Vázquez’s cross to the far post with his head. Hjulmand’s men controlled proceedings up to half-time, with another Schick header after the half-hour mark the closest to another goal.
Leverkusen did get that third goal shortly after the restart with yet another header, this time from Tapsoba. The Werkself were able to move the ball around inside the St. Pauli half after that. Although no more notable headed opportunities followed, Poku did add a fourth as he fired in from just outside the box with 12 minutes to go on a cold afternoon at the BayArena, where Bayer 04 got their fourth straight win and also fourth clean sheet of 2026.
The Werkself are back in UEFA Champions League action on Wednesday as they head to Piraeus in Greece for the first leg of their knockout play-off against Olympiacos (21:00 CET). They then face an away trip to the capital the following Saturday to take on Union Berlin in the Bundesliga (15:30).
Match stats:
Bayer 04: Blaswich - Quansah, Andrich, Tapsoba - Vázquez (Arthur 59'), Palacios (Terrier 80'), Garcia, Grimaldo (Hofmann 72') - Maza (Tillman 46'), Poku - Schick (Kofane 59')
St. Pauli: Vasilj - Dzwigala, Ando, Mets - Saliakas (Ritzka 82'), Sands (Fujita 68'), Irvine (Hara 68'), Pyrka -Sinani, Rasmussen - Kaars (Ceesay 82')
Goals: 1-0 Quansah (13'), 2-0 Schick (14'), 3-0 Tapsoba (52'), 4-0 Poku (78')
Yellow cards: Mets
Referee: Sven Jablonski
Attendance: 30,210 (sold out) at the BayArena
“Year after year, this is an incredibly valuable gathering, both in terms of the content covered and the opportunity for mutual discussion,” stressed Bayer 04 goalkeeping coach David Thiel in his welcoming address at this year’s goalkeeping coaches’ meeting. This was the third time in four seasons that the event had been held at the BayArena. Organised by the German Football Association (DFB), the meeting brought together goalkeeping coaches from the Bundesliga, Bundesliga 2 and the 3rd division from the west region. For the first time this year, goalkeeping coaches from the youth performance centres (NLZ) were also present. Bayer 04 fitness coach Markus Müller provided fascinating insights into the specific fitness training carried out with the Werkself’s goalkeepers.
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It was another incredibly close call in the end: The second showdown in the 2026/27 VBL Club Championship saw the #B04eSports team once again narrowly miss out on a place in the top 16 of the preliminary round – and with it, a spot in the in-person knockout stage. It was a bitter blow: Marc and Sean Landwehr again fell just short, despite being level on points with their rivals. As was the case last month, their weaker record across the twelve individual matches in the six preliminary round fixtures proved decisive.
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Several Werkself players are set to represent their national teams during the final international break of 2026. Here’s an overview of who has been called up and the matches they will face in November. This article will be updated regularly.
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“They stuck with us over the past few weeks when things weren’t going so well,” said captain Edmond Tapsoba, thanking the fans for their support after the 2–1 win in Cologne and dedicating the derby victory to them. Throughout the 90 minutes, the Werkself had looked unfazed and in command, inflicting the first home defeat of the season on FC Köln. It was the sixth consecutive win against the Cologne team for Bayer 04 – head coach Carles Martínez, on the other hand, was facing the team from the neighbouring city for the first time and “now really knows what this derby win means”. The Werkself derby review.
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Following the 2–1 derby victory away at FC Köln on Bundesliga matchday 9, Edmond Tapsoba, Malik Tillman and Aleix Garcia spoke to Werkself TV...
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