In front of the 30,210 fans at the sold-out BayArena, including DFL managing director Marc Lenz, Jonas Hofmann had the first shot on goal after four minutes. The game then remained largely uneventful in the first half, with no further goalscoring opportunities, and the first 45 minutes were regrettably brought to a close by the injury-related substitution of Arthur. After the break, Leverkusen stepped up the intensity, partly thanks to the impetus provided by substitutes Ibrahim Maza and Martin Terrier. However, the visitors scored the first goal of the game through Sheraldo Becker following a well-constructed counter-attack (67'). Immediately before this Mainz counter-attack, two Leverkusen players had been brought down in the penalty area on the opposite side of the pitch. Kasper Hjulmand spoke about a "clear penalty. I've just seen it again." The Werkself were not put off by this incident, continued to work - and were finally rewarded late on in the 88th minute when Jarell Quansah netted the equaliser at 1-1. Bayer 04 pressed for the win into added time but were unable to find the back of the net again.
"We didn't have enough energy, not enough intensity," goalscorer Jarell Quansah said post-match but he added: "It's not the end of the world now, we have to keep that in mind. There are still many games and important months to come. We want to qualify for the Champions League, of course. And to do that, we have to win games, that's what it's all about at the end of the season." Goalkeeper Janis Blaswich said: "We didn’t do enough, no question about it. We only showed what we're made of in the last ten or 15 minutes. We have to build on that in the next game."
Coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke of a "difficult game" at the post-match press conference. Of course, we're not happy with our performance. We lacked rhythm and intensity on the ball, we didn't create enough chances. We had more energy in the last 30 minutes and the equaliser was deserved in the end. Overall, however, we simply haven’t done enough offensively in the last two or three games."
After the game, kicker talked about the ‘striker' Quansah. And added: "Bayer Leverkusen only just managed to salvage a point against Mainz 05 in a 1-1 draw. The defensively strong Rheinhessen side conceded hardly any chances." The Rheinische Post saw a "lacklustre performance" with the Werkself "failing to put pressure on the top places in the table with a win." The Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger rated the first half as "uneventful" and goalscorer Jarell Quansah as man of the match for Leverkusen. The comment: "A solid performance from the England international. Good positional play, often available up front, with hardly any mistakes in defence. Also confident under pressure."
In the end, Jarell Quansah barely held anything back. The defender moved wide in the closing stages. Originally intended primarily to use his heading power, he finally shone as a clinical left-footed finisher. It was his third Bundesliga goal of the season - and his second in succession following the 4-0 win against FC St. Pauli (Quansah did not play against Union Berlin). Meanwhile, in his first Bundesliga and senior appearance in 2026, Axel Tape replaced the injured Arthur at the start of the second 45.
After more than 90 intense minutes of play, Bayer 04 had the upper hand in all relevant statistics - apart from the number of goals scored, of course. 66 per cent possession, 57 per cent of duels won, plus 12 to 8 shots on goal and better pass completion (87 to 77 per cent). Thanks to Jarell Quansah's late equaliser, the Werkself have scored in each of their last 14 home matches.
The Werkself have another midweek game, this time in the Bundesliga. The rearranged fixture at Hamburger SV is on Wednesday, 4 March (kick-off: 20:30 CET) Away tickets for this match are sold out. That is followed on Saturday, 7 March (kick-off: 15:30 CET) by the away clash at SC Freiburg - remaining tickets are available HERE.
The European jersey has been launched, the UEL opponents have been drawn – and anticipation for the European campaign is running high. To mark the occasion, an autograph session was held on Friday afternoon, 28 August, at the Fanwelt with current Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and official club legend Paulo Sergio.
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After six and a half years, Exequiel Palacios is leaving the Bundesliga and moving from Bayer 04 to the Premier League. The Argentine, who as a Werkself player won the World Cup with his national team four years ago and finished as runners-up at this summer’s tournament, will play for newly promoted English side Ipswich Town with immediate effect. The 27-year-old, whose contract in Leverkusen was due to run until 30 June 2030, joined Bayer 04 in January 2020 as a promising young talent. He steadily developed into one of the best defensive midfielders in the German top flight.
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When Exequiel Palacios moved from the Argentinian club River Plate to Bayer Leverkusen on 1 January 2020, the then 21-year-old could not have imagined just how successful the next six and a half years would be for him. Pala, as he is known, had already won the Copa Libertadores – the most prestigious competition in South American club football – with River Plate. But there were still so many more trophies to come.
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To mark Exequiel Palacios’s departure, we’ve put together a compilation of the midfielder’s finest and most important goals from his six-and-a-half years at the club.
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