A breathtaking reception for the team bus, masses of fans on Bismarckstraße and a deafening stage at the BayArena: Everything was set up for a game yet to win. Head coach Xabi Alonso made seven changes to his starting XI for the game against Werder Bremen: only Jonathan Tah, Edmond Tapsoba, Granit Xhaka and Amine Adli were still in the line-up from the last outing.
Leverkusen were cautious at the start of the match. Piero Hincapie had the first effort on goal on nine minutes: Nathan Tella won the ball on the right flank and crossed into the middle with Hincapie racing in at the far post. Mitchell Weiser put in a sliding tackle and the Werder keeper Michael Zetterer made the save. The match was calm even after the first big chance. The Werkself had more of possession with Werder Bremen mounting a resolute defensive response. The next clear goalscoring opportunity came on 22 minutes:Victor Boniface gained possesion in midfield and passed to Tella who crossed the ball straight into the opposition six-yard box. Jonas Hofmann was in the right spot to finish but Julian Malatini caught the Werkself player on the foot. Play continued before VAR intervened. Referee Harm Osmers then went to the monitor and awarded a penalty after reviewing the action. Boniface calmly converted the penalty to give the Werkself a 1-0 lead (25').
Bayer 04 maintained pressure after the opening goal with Xhaka and Hofmann also having good chances from outside the box (28’), Adli hit the bar from a tight angle (38,'). Just before the break, the visitors had a promising opportunity with Romano Schmid crossing the ball for several teammates before Lukas Hradecky intervened – the hosts took a 1-0 lead into half-time.
The Werkself also made a quiet start to the second half but remained on top – and it did not take long for the hosts to find the back of the net again: Xhaka tried his luck again from distance on 61 minutes and his impressive effort hit the top left corner of the net to make it 2-0. The game then took off. Florian Wirtz, who came on at start of the second half, produced an equally impressive finish seven minutes later: He turned on the edge of the box and fired a shot into the roof of the net to make it 3-0 (68'). Not much happened after that until the 84th minute as the Werkself moved up a gear again: Wirtz scored again from a long pass from Exequiel Palacios to make it 4-0 and he completed his hat trick a few minutes later for the final score of 5-0. From 80 minutes, fans were massed on the edge of the pitch supporting their team. When the final whistle came there was no holding back and the fans streamed onto the pitch. Bayer 04 Leverkusen are champions of Germany for the first time!
Winning the league title is followed by the next game in the Europa League: The Werkself are away to West Ham United on Thursday 18 April to decide progress to the semi-final stage. The match at the London Stadium kicks off at 21.00 CEST.
Match stats:
Bayer 04: Hradecky - Kossounou, Tah, Tapsoba, Hincapie (Grimaldo 77') - Xhaka (Palacios 77'), Andrich - Tella (Frimpong 63'), Hofmann, Adli (Wirtz 46’) - Boniface (Schick 63')
Werder Bremen: Zetterer – Malatini, Groß, Veljkovic – Weiser, Lynen, Agu – Schmid, Bittencourt (Hansen-Aarøen 77') – Woltemade, Ducksch
Goals: 1-0 Boniface (25’), 2-0 Xhaka (61’), 3-0 Wirtz (68’), 4-0 Wirtz (83’), 5-0 Wirtz (90’)
Booked: Adli - Bittencourt
Referee: Harm Osmers (Hannover)
Attendance: 30,210 (sold out) at the BayArena
A simple approach to sport with games, fun and a highlight at the end: Bayer 04 organised a very special training session for 40 participants aged between six and 27 in cooperation with the Football Association of the Middle Rhine (FVM). At the day of action for women and girls with disabilities at the Kurtekotten Performance Centre, many of the participants gained their first experience of football.
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On Saturday, 28 March, the lights will go out again at the BayArena from 20:30 pm to 21:30. As in previous years, Bayer 04 once again take part in the WWF Earth Hour campaign under the motto "We're switching off" as the club wants to set a collective example for more climate and environmental protection together with people, cities and companies around the world.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen are bringing back Kerim Alajbegovic, who joined Red Bull Salzburg in the summer of 2025. The Bundesliga club activated the buy-back option in the contract with the Bosnia international, who has enjoyed great success at the Austrian top-flight club since the start of the current season. Alajbegovic moved to Salzburg from the Leverkusen U19s last year. The 1.86-metre forward has signed a five-year contract at Leverkusen with a start date of 1 July 2026.
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Less than a year ago, Kerim Alajbegovic moved from the Bayer 04 U19s to Austrian top-flight club FC Red Bull Salzburg. The forward’s development since then has been impressive. In 36 matches, including in the UEFA Europa League, the 18-year-old has scored 14 goals. In the summer, Alajbegovic, now a Bosnia international, will return to Leverkusen - and thus not only achieve the next milestone still early in his career, but also enrich the Werkself squad with his footballing versatility and determination.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended the contract with forward Nathan Tella ahead of schedule. The versatile 26-year-old, who can be deployed as a right winger, false nine or left winger, has penned a new contract to 30 June 2031. Tella joined the Werkself from Championship club Southampton in 2023. His previous contract ran to the summer of 2028.
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