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
New signing Miguel Gutiérrez arrives in Leverkusen having won the Champions League, the Spanish league title and an Olympic gold medal. However, the 25-year-old Spaniard, signed from Napoli, is looking to the future – he wants to write the next chapter of success with the Werkself. Bayer04.de takes a closer look at the skilful, attack-minded left-back, who will wear the number 3 jersey.
Show more
The Werkself's training camp in Weimarer Land all in one place: in our daily blog you'll find all the insights and updates from the day. Day three (Tuesday 4 August) begins with a thorough open session on the pitch. After lunch, some players have media engagements at the team hotel, and then the team come together for a barbecue in the evening.
Show more
Nine matches against teams from nine countries, two penalty shoot-outs won, and encounters that went far beyond football: As with last year, the Inklusionswerkself enjoyed an extraordinary week at the Genuine Cup 2026 in Houston, USA, and made memories that will last a lifetime. This year, the Leverkusen side took part as Germany’s official representatives and, accordingly, took to the pitch in Germany kit. Together with 53 teams from 53 nations, the Black and Reds once again sent a powerful message of inclusion and participation – and also impressed on the pitch by winning their group.
Show more
The Werkself training camp in the Weimarer Land all in one place: in our daily blog, you’ll find all the insights and updates from the day. The programme for day two (Monday, 3 August) centres on two training sessions – one in the morning (open to the public) and one in the early evening (behind closed doors) – at the nearby training grounds. In the afternoon, fans can look forward to a big fan meet-up with club legend Paulo Sergio at Schloss Blankenhain.
Show more
