Head coach Kasper Hjulmand made three changes from the team that started Tuesday’s 1-0 win at Borussia Dortmund in the DFB Pokal as Malik Tillman, Loic Bade and Patrik Schick came in for Alejandro Grimaldo, Jarell Quansah and Christian Kofane.
The Werkself attempted to make a fast start in Bavaria as Schick was denied from the edge of the box inside two minutes and Edmond Tapsoba’s follow-up went just wide. But it was the hosts who forged ahead when Keven Schlotterbeck’s long ball picked out Giannoulis up the left, who found the back of the net despite Ernest Poku’s best recovering efforts. The Dutchman tried to make amends but was denied by Finn Dahmen, before a Robert Andrich delivery evaded Schick and also Ibrahim Maza.
Augsburg made their next attack count as well when Giannoulis’s cross found Kade in the middle to head home with barely 30 minutes played. Bayer 04 continued to control proceedings but had to watch out for any potential breakaways. With half-time looming, Poku struck the side netting and Andrich saw a header come back off the post.
Kofane and Quansah were introduced for Martin Terrier and Bade for the second period. Schick and Poku both had shots that failed to find a breakthrough. Nathan Tella and Eliesse Ben Seghir also came on, with the latter striking the crossbar from the edge of the area.
The frame of the goal came to Augsburg’s rescue again when a Poku cross was knocked by Dahmen onto the knee of Tella, who could only turn the ball against the post, with Tillman and Schick both having follow-up efforts blocked. The latter put a shot into the side netting as Hjulmand’s men eventually ran out of time to find a way back into the game.
Bayer 04 are next in action on Wednesday when they host Newcastle United in the UEFA Champions League (21:00 CET). The following Saturday brings the home derby against Köln (18:30) before the final game of 2025 away at RB Leipzig on Saturday, 20 December (18:30).
Match stats:
Augsburg: Dahmen - Banks, Matsima, Schlotterbeck - Fellhauer, Massengo, Jakic, Giannoulis (Pedersen 57') - Kade (Essende 89'), Claude-Maurice (Rexhbecaj 69'), Rieder (Kömür 57')
Bayer 04: Flekken - Andrich, Badé (Quansah 46'), Tapsoba - Hofmann (Ben Seghir 61'), Maza (Tella 61'), Garcia, Poku - Terrier (Kofane 46'), Schick, Tillman (Echeverri 81')
Goals: 1-0 Giannoulis (6'), 2-0 Kade (28')
Yellow cards: Banks, Kade, Jakic - Tapsoba, Tella, Quansah
Referee: Sven Jablonski
Attendance: 30,000 at the WWK Arena
High spirits and previously untold stories: Around 100 Bayer 04 fans packed the Schwadbud fan pub in the east stand of the BayArena on Thursday evening to be there in person for the first instalment of the new series of events entitled “Rudi lädt ein” (Rudi invites you). They listened intently as long-serving Werkself players Gonzalo Castro and Stefan Kießling chatted with record appearance-maker Rüdiger Vollborn and presenter and stadium announcer Tobias Ufer about their many years together at the club, shared amusing anecdotes and revealed dressing room secrets. Anyone who missed the premiere can already look forward to the second instalment – on 12 May, Rudi will be testing the expert knowledge of Bayer 04 fans during a quiz night.
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The Bundesliga home game against VfL Wolfsburg in the first half of the season was one of those classic ‘days to forget’ for Bayer 04 Women. It started with goalkeeper Charlotte Voll being shown a red card in the first minute of the game, and following a further sending-off, coach Roberto Pätzold's 9-women side ended up losing 5-1 to last season's runners-up. At 18.30 CET on Sunday, they'll have the chance to exact revenge at the AOK Stadium - and pick up valuable points in the race for third place.
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Sofie Zdebel is up for the Goal of the Month award for February on ARD-Sportschau. Fans have until 21 March (19:00 CET) to vote for the Germany U23 international's volley to make it 2-0 in the Bayer 04 Women's derby against FC Köln (2-1).
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen are further expanding their partner network: The feed manufacturer PerNaturam is an official sponsor of the Bayer 04 Womens team. The partnership opens up a wide range of opportunities for the company to position its brand in the Bundesliga environment.
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Do you dream of wearing the Bayer cross on your chest? To play in black and red like your role models Loreen Bender, Cornelia Kramer, Kristin Kögel and co. from the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga? Then take your chance now! Our female youth teams are once again on the lookout for new talent. That's why Bayer 04 are organising a talent day on 12 April 2026 for the first time this year with trials for female juniors.
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