The match in front of a full house at the BayArena began with Leverkusen having the majority of possession as usual. The first shot – and the first goal at the same time – came from the visitors: Romano Schmid gave Werder Bremen the lead when he converted a square ball from Jens Stage (7'). The first shot from the Black and Reds came on 26 minutes but was saved by the Werder keeper Michael Zetterer. The first half ended after an offside goal by Milos Veljkovic and an Aleix Garcia free kick that hit the bar. The Werkself made three substitutions for the restart including Florian Wirtz. He had to go off 15 minutes later after being fouled. The second offside goal of the game followed, this time André Silva found the back of the net for Werder Bremen. The Werkself were then livelier and had several good chances but failed to score. At the other end, Justin Njinmah sealed the win with a strike in added time to make it 2-0 (90+4'). HERE is the match report.
"It wasn't good today. We were too hectic and didn't have any control. We want to forget this game as soon as possible and we have to believe in ourselves again," said Xabi Alonso at the post-match press conference. Nathan Tella said on Werkself TV: "I'd say it was the final pass and the effectiveness in both boxes. We couldn't make a tackle and didn't get the ball in the net."
Aleix Garcia, speaking to Werkself TV, praised the support at the BayArena: "Our fans are unbelievable. We know that they are really important for us for every game and also for next week. And we will try to make a nice week."
Yes, I'd like to see videos dispalyed.
The view of the kicker: "Crisis-hit Bremen win a highly emotional encounter in Leverkusen. The Werkself played with plenty of passion, particularly after Wirtz was substituted due to an injury, and they grappled with Werder in a defensive battle." The Rheinische Post says: "Leverkusen revealed problems, gave away the ball too easily and simply looked less focused than the team from the Weser." The newspaper added: "While Bremen celebrated a liberating victory (after four games in succession without a win, ed.), Leverkusen were exasperated three times: with the injury to Wirtz, the lost game and the missed chances to make up ground on Bayern in the title race." FC Bayern lost 3-2 at home to VfL Bochum on Saturday.
Emiliano Buendía, the Spanish winter signing on loan from Aston Villa, made his first start in the Bundesliga against Werder Bremen after four appearances as a substitute.
The 2-0 loss against Werder Bremen was the second league defeat of the season and is the equal highest Bundesliga home defeat under Xabi Alonso together with the 2-0 reverse against Borussia Dortmund at the end of January 2023. It is the second defeat in succession across competitions – the last time that happened to the Werkself was in May 2023. And that is also the same number of defeats as in the previous 33 games.
And the match stats: Bayer 04 dominated proceedings with 73% possession and 18 shots on goal to 11. Werder Bremen had the edge in terms of duels won: They had 54% and the Black and Reds 46%.
The Werkself are back in action in the Champions League Round of 16 second leg against Bayern Munich on Tuesday, 11 March (kick-off: 21:00 CET). That is followed five days later by Bundesliga Matchday 26 with an away game at VfB Stuttgart (Sunday, 16 March, 19:30 CET). The international break comes after that.
Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 4-0 win at SGS Essen on the 24th matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2025/26.
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Bayer 04 put in a brilliant performance to beat RB Leipzig 4-1 on Bundesliga matchday 32 and are now fourth in a Champions League spot. The Black and Reds took control of the game right from the start and, with 75 per cent possession at one stage, took a 2-0 lead into the break through Patrik Schick (25’) and Nathan Tella (45+1’). The visitors initially tried to do more after the break, but the Werkself remained determined and Schick scored his second goal to increase the lead to 3-0 (76'). The Red Bulls pulled a goal back through Christoph Baumgartner (80'), but the disciplined Leverkusen side were not rattled - and certainly not Schick: The Czechia international crowned a brilliant display with his third goal shortly before the final whistle to make the final score 4-1.
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In the previous game against RB Leipzig in December last year, the Werkself turned came from behind to win 3-1 and further improved Leverkusen's already strong record against the Red Bulls. Montrell Culbreath stood out with his first goal on his debut for the Black and Reds. While the 18-year-old would certainly like to score a second goal against Leipzig on Saturday night, the attack-minded visitors come to the BayArena in confident mood after five Bundesliga victories in a row. The Nordkurve12 supporters group knows the Werkself will therefore once again be reliant on the vociferous support of the fans, and has once again called for the ‘Finally Red’ campaign in the run-in. Today’s matchday news.
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Video games manufacturer Electronic Arts (EA), together with the German Football League (DFL), announced the top male and female selections for the 2025/26 Bundesliga season this week. Bayer 04 striker Vanessa Fudalla is in the starting eleven of the women's "Team of the Season". Alejandro Grimaldo and Aleix Garcia have been selected as bench players in the men's team.
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