Head coach Gerardo Seoane made two changes to his team from last week’s 3-0 win at Mainz. Both were enforced, with Piero Hincapie and Mitchel Bakker suspended. Odilon Kossounou and Daley Sinkgraven came in. But before the action got under way, there was a minute’s silence at the BayArena – and at all other grounds around the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 this matchday – to mark the 50th anniversary of the terrorist attack at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich.
As in Mainz, Bayer 04 were playing in all black and starting with a back three, with Jeremie Frimpong and Sinkgraven the wing-backs. After an even start to proceedings, it was the first attack of note that brought the opening goal as Kossounou got into the box down the right and squared the ball, where Demirbay tucked away from close range among the bodies with 16 minutes gone. The next attack also came from Leverkusen, but Schick only struck the side netting, before he was also denied by Mark Flekken on 35 minutes. Moussa Diaby was also thwarted by the Freiburg goalkeeper shortly before the break, so it remained 1-0 at half-time.
The second half couldn’t have got off to a much worse start for Bayer 04. Matthias Ginter first headed in the equaliser from a Vincenzo Grifo corner three minutes after the restart before Michael Gregoritsch tapped home a Woo-yeong Jeong square ball to put Freiburg ahead on 51 minutes. It demanded a response from the Werkself, so Seoane sent on Sardar Azmoun, Charles Aranguiz and new signing Hudson-Odoi just after the hour. And those changes paid off.
It was the England international’s cross from the left that found Schick in the middle, and he headed home a deserved equaliser with 65 minutes on the clock. Leverkusen had fought back after a brief wobble and – like before half-time – were throwing themselves into challenges. However, Lukas Hradecky & Co. were hit with another setback as Freiburg put away just their third telling opportunity of the game when Ritsu Doan forced the ball home. Even with 18 minutes still to play, there was no way back again for Bayer 04 as they remain without a point at home this season after three games.
The Werkself now face back-to-back away games. First they kick off the new Champions League season away at Belgian champions Club Brugge on Wednesday, 7 September. They’re back in Bundesliga action at Hertha Berlin just three days later.
Match stats:
Bayer 04: Hradecky – Kossounou, Tah (Aranguiz 60'), Tapsoba – Frimpong, Andrich (Amiri 78'), Palacios (Hudson-Odoi 60'), Sinkgraven (Fosu-Mensah 78') – Demirbay (Azmoun 60') – Diaby, Schick
Freiburg: Flekken – Ginter, Lienhart, Gulde (Doan 46') – Sildillia, Keitel (Eggestein 46'), Höfler, Günter – Sallai (Jeong 9'), Gregoritsch (Schlotterbeck 79'), Grifo (Petersen 79')
Goals: 1-0 Demirbay (16'), 1-1 Ginter (48'), 1-2 Gregoritsch (51'), 2-2 Schick (65'), 2-3 Doan (72')
Yellow cards: Tah, Amiri – Höfler, Gregoritsch
Referee: Sascha Stegemann
Attendance: 26,853 at the BayArena
The second friendly and the first goal for the Bayer 04 Women: The Werkself just missed out on their first win in the preseason away to top-flight Dutch side PEC Zwolle. The team led by coach Roberto Pätzold drew 1-1 on Friday afternoon in Wezep. As with the friendly against TSG Hoffenheim (0-2) a number of first-team players were absent. The coach once again shared out time on the pitch for the 20-player squad. The goal of the match was scored by summer signing Vanessa Fudalla (67').
Show moreContinuity under the Cross: After the successful season in 2024/25 with reaching the final of the VBL Club Championship, the two Leverkusen e-sports players Marc and Sean Landwehr have extended their contracts at Bayer 04 by an additional two years. Marc is thereby in his sixth year and Sean in his third year with the Werkself. Together with e-talent Marcus Hüttemann, who has also extended his stay at Bayer 04 Bayer year, completes the current squad for the 2025/26 season.
Show moreBayer 04 Leverkusen have signed centre forward Christian Kofane. The 18-year-old Cameroonian joins Leverkusen from Spanish second tier club Albacete on a contract to 30 June 2029.
Show moreBayer 04 Leverkusen will wear the new away kit for the 2025/26 season at the start of the training camp in Brazil. In conscious contrast to the international aspect of this year's training camp in Rio de Janeiro, kit supplier New Balance has designed a jersey for the Werkself players and all other Bayer 04 teams with distinct links to home.
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