Right from the off, the hosts kept Augsburg away from their goal and were very assured in possession themselves. The opening goal via a long-distance shot by Patrik Schick was the logical consequence after 14 minutes. While the visitors failed to register a shot on target in the first half, Emiliano Buendía made it 2-0 on the stroke of half-time with a delightful curling strike. Augsburg then had their best period of the game in the middle of the second period, but the Werkself defended comfortably, kept a clean sheet and inflicted a first away defeat of the calendar year on the Bavarians. Read the full match report HERE.
Head coach Xabi Alonso: "It was a better performance, with more energy, structure and seriousness. We had control with and without the ball. That's the path we want to take - and we need our fans for that. For me personally, but also for the team, it's very important that we have an atmosphere as good as today at home."
Jonas Hofmann: "In the first half especially, it was a very focused performance. In the second half we eased off a bit. When we do that, we can't afford to give anything away - but we didn't, either. Overall today we had more energy, were more alert defensively, closed the spaces well and pressed well. When you do all those things, you also end up with a win."
Robert Andrich: "On the whole it was a very sound performance from us and a fully deserved win. We're pleased today, also because we kept a clean sheet. Now it goes on, we want to win the remaining games as well. For us it's a case of ending the season with fun in our play and good team performances."
Yes, I'd like to see videos dispalyed.
The press described the Werkself's home win with adjectives such as "comfortable", "effective" and "deserved". The report from kicker read: "Leverkusen beat Augsburg 2-0 with an unspectacular display. The Werkself switched to game management mode in the second half but were never really put in any danger by FCA." Sky, meanwhile, saw a "very enthusiastic" display and a "deserved home win", Bild "finally Bayer football again". The Rheinische Post awarded Jonathan Tah, Nathan Tella, Emiliano Buendía, Florian Wirtz and Patrik Schick a rating of 2 for their performances.
Schick netted the opening goal of the game for the sixth time in this Bundesliga campaign. It was his 19th goal of the season overall - out of all the players in the major five European leagues with at least three goals, the Czech internationals has needed the fewest minutes per goal on average (74). What's more, he further underlined the Werkself's qualities as fast starters, as they scored in the opening quarter of an hour for the 12th time - no other side in the league have done so more often.
The second goalscorer of the day, Buendía, started a Bundesliga match for the second time and netted his second goal in his last three league appearances.
With 67 points, Bayer 04 have equalled the second-best Bundesliga campaign in the club's history (same as 1999/2000). Only in last year's title-winning season did they have more points after 31 matchdays (81). Alonso's side have also registered clean sheets in three of their last four league matches and conceded just one goal (in the 1-1 draw at St. Pauli) - no other team in the German top flight have let in fewer goals in this period (Werder Bremen also one).
The stats from the meeting are slightly in favour of the reigning double winners: 14-11 attempts, 53 percent possession, 53 percent challenges won and a pass completion rate of one percent more.
Next up for the Werkself is the trip to SC Freiburg on Sunday 4 May, kicking off at 17:30 CEST. That's followed by the final home match of the season against Borussia Dortmund on Sunday 11 May (15:30 CEST). Bayer 04 finish the season away to 1. FSV Mainz 05 on Saturday 17 May (15:30 CEST).
The German national team, featuring Werkself player Carlotta Wamser, agonisingly missed out on a place in the Women's EURO final. In a tense and dramatic semi-final, the DFB Team lost 1-0 after extra time against world champions Spain. The 21-year-old summer signing from Eintracht Frankfurt played the full 120 minutes, continuing her strong form at the tournament.
Show moreFor media representatives: As part of the preparations for the forthcoming 2025/26 season, all accreditation requests for Werkself home fixtures in all competitions (national and European) can only be made from now via the new online accreditation portal.
Show moreThis special event deeply affected all Bayer 04 representatives present: On the penultimate day of the Bayer 04 Brazil Tour, a selected delegation, led by CEO Fernando Carro and club legend Paulo Sergio, made their way to the ‘Instituto Bola pra Frente’. The former Werkself player Jorginho set up the welfare organisation 25 years ago in a deprived area of Rio de Janeiro, which was where he lived as a child. The Brazil World Cup winner of 1994 welcomed Bayer 04 as the first club ever to visit and he shared deep and, above all, emotional insights into his day-to-day work in the favelas.
Show moreIt's always a great pleasure to watch football crazy children being so happy pursuing their big passion. It was the same this time round when a small delegation led by Luiz Felipe, the son of Paulo Sergio and technical director of the recently opened Bayer 04 Football Academy São Paulo, visited the German School in Rio de Janeiro and held a training session as part of the Bayer 04 Brazil Tour. On the football pitch in front of the school building, 70 children had an afternoon full of fun and joy with a view of the world famous Christ the Redeemer.
Show more