The team under head coach Xabi Alonso were on top in the opening stage of the game and they succeeded in creating promising chances in the first 20 minutes from the impressive Kerem Demirbay (10’) and Jeremie Frimpong (16’). At the other end, the record champions proved to be efficient with Joshua Kimmich scoring in their first attack with a deflection off Odilon Kossounou at 1-0 (22’). After the restart, the match developed into a truly curious affair: In two fast counter-attacks, Amine Adli was twice shown the yellow card for diving by referee Tobias Stieler. However, on both occasions, the VAR official intervened with the referee overturning his decisions and rightly awarding a penalty to the Werkself. The Argentinian World Cup winner Exequiel Palacios scored from the spot to both make it 1-1 (56’) as well as 2-1 (73’) and thereby succeeded in turning the game round. The record champions pressed for an equaliser in the closing stages but Lukas Hradecky pulled off a number of impressive saves. The game ended in a 2-1 win. HERE is the match report.
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The skipper Lukas Hradecky showed respect for the performance of the referee: “Today is actually proof that VAR makes sense. Perhaps the referee had problems identifying the situation – but he stood corrected twice: very impressive.” In addition, the captain praised the determined performance of his team: “Today was an absolutely impressive team performance and you can’t focus on one particular individual. We are working from game to game but from today you can really say that a positive trend is recognisable.”
Robert Andrich concurred with that assessment: “Slowly you can see that we are achieving a certain stability and on top of that our attacking is working better and better.” The Werkself number eight added: “We had a good plan. We were on top until we conceded and we created good chances. Bayern were simply on the spot at the crucial moment but we didn’t let that put is off. I think we did really well over 90 minutes. The win was absolutely deserved!”
Xabi Alonso pulled off a tactical master stroke in the game against the record champions from Munich. Compared with last Thursday’s 2-0 win at Ferencvaros in the second leg of the Europa League Round of 16, Alonso opted for a 3-4-1-2 formation rather than the usual 3-4-2-1 line-up. The Spaniard made an unusual selection in the back three: Midfielder Robert Andrich started in the centre of defence in between Odilon Kossounou and Edmond Tapsoba. The midfield included Kerem Demirbay, Piero Hincapie moved out of the back three onto the left flank where he replaced Mitchel Bakker.
How did Andrich find out about his new role? The 28-year-old: “After a sleep in the afternoon, I got a message from the coach on my mobile: ‘Rob, your playing as a sweeper again today!’” The Werkself number eight made his first appearance as a defender in the 1-1 draw in Freiburg and he did a good job. Back then, Alonso talked about a “possible option for the future.” And lo and behold: The plan of the Spaniard came up trumps against the record champions. Andrich added: “The idea behind it was that we would be less predictable on the ball. Because a holding midfielder might have a different sense for space.”
A look at the shots on goal stat shows that both teams both had eleven attempts. And it was head-to-head in terms of possession and challenges with FC Bayern winning 53% of challenges and having 60% possession. Another interesting fact: Up to yesterday, FC Bayern had not lost any of their last 86 Bundesliga games after leading at half-time. The last such defeat was on 2 February 2019, the opponents back then? Bayer 04 Leverkusen.
Moreover: Exequiel Palacios scored from the penalty spot for the first time for the Werkself and then he did it for a second time. That makes the Werkself number 25 only the third player ever to score two penalties for Bayer 04 in a Bundesliga fixture. Only Ulf Kirsten (in 2001 against VfB Stuttgart) and Dimitar Berbatov (in 2006 against FC Kaiserslautern).
The kicker headline is: “Palacios crowns Xabi Alonso’s masterpiece” and furthermore: “It was a tactical master stroke.” The player who bagged the brace was named Man of the Match by the football journal: “Exequiel Palacios was extremely valuable and not just because he scored the two penalties. The Argentinian was good at winning the ball, aggressive and played a lot of good deep passes.”
And the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger praised the tactical work of the Spaniards calling it an “interesting chess move.” The newspaper also awarded top marks four times for the performances of the Werkself players Lukas Hradecky, Exequiel Palacios, Robert Andrich and Kerem Demirbay. The KStA described Demirbay’s display as follows: “Great game by the playmaker. Shone many times thanks to his good technique [...] Was not averse to a hard physical challenges.”
The Rheinische Post highlighted Hradecky and Palacios and awarded the duo top marks. The newspaper wrote about the performance of the Argentinian World Cup winner: “A refreshingly confident performance by the Argentinian who created chances for the Werkself with well timed passes [...] The form of the World Cup winner is definitely on the ascendant.”
More than ten Werkself players are away with their national teams in the second international break of the year. For the other Bayer 04 players, there are three open training sessions on training pitches one and two at the BayArena this week before a well-deserved weekend without games or training. League action returns on Saturday 1 April. The Alonso team are away to Schalke 04 with the kick-off at 15.30 CEST.
A special visit to the BayArena: 222 members from volunteer fire brigades in Leverkusen, the Rheinisch-Bergisch district and the Oberbergisch district watched the Werkself’s 2–0 home win over Slovenian champions NK Celje live in the stadium. Bayer 04 had invited them to the 2026/27 Europa League opener as a thank-you for their tremendous dedication. They watched the match together in Block F4.
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The Bayer 04 U19s have extended their winning run with a fifth consecutive victory on Matchday 5 of the DFB Youth League’s preliminary round. Coach Patrick Greveraars’ side secured a 3–2 (2–1) win in their match against second-placed FC Viktoria Köln, with Burak Kir and Nebe Domnic scoring for the hosts in the first half before captain Ben Hawighorst found the net after the break.
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Bayer 04 will have to manage without defender Guéla Doué for the time being. The Ivory Coast international sustained a muscle injury to his right calf during the final Werkself training session yesterday ahead of the Europa League clash with Slovenian champions NK Celje.
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For the first time since reaching the final against AS Roma (2–2, first leg 2–0) in May 2024, Bayer 04 are playing another home match in the UEFA Europa League – and they will be wearing their new European kit. On Wednesday 16 September (kick-off: 21:00 CEST), the BayArena will welcome Slovenian champions NK Celje, who appointed a new coach this week following a mixed start to the season. Under the slogan “40 Years Across Europe. Still Creating History.”, the Black and Reds now aim to add the next chapter to their European history, which has seen so much success in recent years. Bayer 04 fans can follow the match on free-to-air TV on RTL, as well as on Sky and Werkself Radio. The matchday news.
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European football returns to the BayArena: Bayer 04 host Slovenian champions NK Celje on matchday 1 in the group stage of the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League. Ahead of the match on Wednesday 16 September (kick-off: 21:00 CEST), head coach Carles Martínez and midfielder Aleix Garcia spoke at the pre-match press conference. The focus was primarily on the great anticipation surrounding the competition and the clear objectives for it – and, given the circumstances, on a last-minute change to the opposition line-up.
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