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."
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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).
“Year after year, this is an incredibly valuable gathering, both in terms of the content covered and the opportunity for mutual discussion,” stressed Bayer 04 goalkeeping coach David Thiel in his welcoming address at this year’s goalkeeping coaches’ meeting. This was the third time in four seasons that the event had been held at the BayArena. Organised by the German Football Association (DFB), the meeting brought together goalkeeping coaches from the Bundesliga, Bundesliga 2 and the 3rd division from the west region. For the first time this year, goalkeeping coaches from the youth performance centres (NLZ) were also present. Bayer 04 fitness coach Markus Müller provided fascinating insights into the specific fitness training carried out with the Werkself’s goalkeepers.
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It was another incredibly close call in the end: The second showdown in the 2026/27 VBL Club Championship saw the #B04eSports team once again narrowly miss out on a place in the top 16 of the preliminary round – and with it, a spot in the in-person knockout stage. It was a bitter blow: Marc and Sean Landwehr again fell just short, despite being level on points with their rivals. As was the case last month, their weaker record across the twelve individual matches in the six preliminary round fixtures proved decisive.
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Several Werkself players are set to represent their national teams during the final international break of 2026. Here’s an overview of who has been called up and the matches they will face in November. This article will be updated regularly.
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“They stuck with us over the past few weeks when things weren’t going so well,” said captain Edmond Tapsoba, thanking the fans for their support after the 2–1 win in Cologne and dedicating the derby victory to them. Throughout the 90 minutes, the Werkself had looked unfazed and in command, inflicting the first home defeat of the season on FC Köln. It was the sixth consecutive win against the Cologne team for Bayer 04 – head coach Carles Martínez, on the other hand, was facing the team from the neighbouring city for the first time and “now really knows what this derby win means”. The Werkself derby review.
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Following the 2–1 derby victory away at FC Köln on Bundesliga matchday 9, Edmond Tapsoba, Malik Tillman and Aleix Garcia spoke to Werkself TV...
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