With three changes to the starting line-up, the Werkself were up and running from the kick-off – and were soon rewarded for their efforts: Victor Boniface (4’) and Jonas Hofmann (8') found the back of the net. The assists for both goals came from Exequiel Palacios in his first start of the season. Another goal from Boniface was ruled out due to an offside decision (26’). The Storks pulled a goal back just before half-time with Max Geschwill making it 2-1(45+5'). Bayer 04 continued to press after the restart but the next the goal came from the opponents: Jann-Fiete Arp converted a penalty – after Jeremie Frimpong had brought down Armin Gigovic – for a surprising equaliser at 2-2 (70'). That was the final scoreline. HERE is the match report.
Lukas Hradecky summed up the game as follows: "We felt good at 2-0 but then lost concentration and we didn't take our chances." The captain added: "We have to analyse it carefully, we weren't good enough today. It doesn't matter if we're playing against AC Milan, Bayern or Kiel, we have to play the same way if we want to win. We should have won here today regardless of the performance. We dropped the points."
Head coach Xabi Alonso said: "We're not happy with the performance. The result is clearly our own fault. We didn't play with enough intelligence after the early lead. At the end of the day I can say: the draw was a fair result. Today we only deserved one point."
The kicker headline reads: "Bayer's blistering start not enough." The summary by the sports journal: "Bayer 04 shook up Holstein Kiel in the opening stages of the game. But because the superiority was 'only' a two-goal lead, KSV were able to fight back." The Bild-Zeitung reports: "The team of double winning coach Xabi Alonso – in post two years today – blunders in his 100th game in the dugout. Leverkusen are 2-0 up. Then the newcomers crash the party for the 120th anniversary of the Werkself."
The Rheinische Post opts for the following headline: "Holstein Kiel take point against Bayer Leverkusen." And furthermore: "The Werkself were 2-0 up against the newly promoted club from the north after ten minutes and the team under coach Xabi Alonso missed the chance to seal the win and allowed the visitors to come back into the game. They were grateful to accept the invitation, levelled the scores and secured the draw." The Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger awarded the high mark of 2 to Exequiel Palacios, Florian Wirtz and Victor Boniface. Jonas Hofmann received a 2.5.
After a brief appearances, Exequiel Palacios made his first start of the season on his 26th birthday. And the working day for the Argentina World Cup winner could not have started better: Palacios set up the 1-0 scored by Victor Boniface as well as the 2-0 netted by Jonas Hofmann. The 26-year-old went off on 70 minutes after winning plenty of possession and challenges as usual.
Head coach Xabi Alonso was in charge for his 100th game at Bayer 04 in the match against Holstein Kiel – and that on his second anniversary under the Cross. The Werkself brought in the Spanish coach on 5 October 2022. And what happened in the following season will never be forgotten in Leverkusen...
Bayer 04 are often first out of the blocks in the current Bundesliga campaign. The Werkself have scored eleven goals before half-time in the first six games – more than any other club in the top flight. Four of those goals have come in the opening 15 minutes and that is also a league record.
The numbers in the match predominantly favour Bayer 04: 23 to 8 shots on goal, 74% possession and a significantly better pass completion rate (92% to 74%). The Storks were just in front in challenges with 55% won.
A large number of Werkself players are now on international duty. The German double winners will then be playing at the BayArena again: The opponents on Saturday, 19 October (kick-off: 15.30 CEST) are Eintracht Frankfurt. That is followed by the next match in the Champions League away to Stade Brest.
“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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“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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Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 2-1 derby win at 1. FC Köln Matchday 9 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season...
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