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 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.
Show more
On Monday evening, 8 June, around 250 people came to the Bürgerhaus Baumberg at the invitation of Bayer 04 to find out details of the new plans for the campus on Alfred-Nobel-Straße at an information event. More compact, greener and with many advantages for Monheim am Rhein - those are the aims. There were lively discussions for around three hours and some misunderstandings were cleared up.
Show more
Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and Bayer 04 loanee Francis Onyeka are part of Germany's final squad for the U19 European Championships this summer. The tournament is in Wales from 24 June to 12 July.
Show more
When Malik Tillman arrived at Bayer 04 Leverkusen from PSV Eindhoven last summer, he did more than just add attacking midfield strength to the team — he reconnected the club with a unique and understated American lineage that stretches back more than three decades.
Show more
Bayer 04 are away to third-division club SV Wehen Wiesbaden in the first round of the 2026/27 DFB Pokal. That was the outcome of the draw on Saturday night, 6 June, at the German Football Museum in Dortmund. The Werkself first round tie will be played between 21 and 24 August. The exact date has yet to be finalised.
Show more
