Both Hertha Berlin and the Werkself looked to get on the front foot from the start: The first chance for the Berlin side came after three minutes with a header from Lukebakio with the rest of first half seeing Leverkusen having the more clear-cut chances. Both the bouncing header from Patrik Schick (11') as well as the volley from Adam Hlozek (26') revealed the ability of the Hertha keeper Christensen between the sticks. Kanga hit the woodwork for the hosts (37') before the ball ended up in the back of both nets after the restart. Kerem Demirbay opened the scoring for Bayer 04 with a brilliant free kick into the corner of the net (49') but the lead did not last long: Serdar (55') and Richter, with an outstanding volley (74'), put Hertha in front. Schick netted the equaliser at 2-2 on 79 minutes when he hit a shot through the legs of Christensen from the penalty spot following a cross from the left by Robert Andrich. A double chance for Hertha's Boetius, with the first effort saved by Lukas Hradecky and the second hitting the hand of Odilon Kossounou and then the post (82') plus a chance for Schick in added time rounded off a very intense and highly entertaining encounter. The match report is HERE.
Disappointed with the result but also satisfied with the performance: There are two viewpoints from a Leverkusen perspective. "You can see it as a point gained but we could have taken all three with more luck in converting our chances," said Kerem Demirbay. Callum Hudson-Odoi put it as follows: "It hurts not to have won but we gave our all." Gerardo Seoane spoke of "an attractive game where my team was more active both in defence and attack than in previous games. Unfortunately, in certain situations we missed the opportunity to finish them off." The Bayer 04 head coach drew the following conclusion: "Compliments to the team for their morale after going 2-1 down. I saw a clear improvement in performance."
The scorer of the leveller could have been the Man of the Match on this day: Patrik Schick did score to make it 2-2 with his second goal of the season but the Czech striker also failed to finish two or three more good chances. The coach played a part in Leverkusen's second goal as both the provider of the cross Robert Andrich and Sardar Azmoun, who brilliantly anticipated the situation by letting the ball run through to Schick, had both just been brought on by Gerardo Seoane. Jonathan Tah made his 200th Bundesliga appearance for the Black and Reds at the Olympic Stadium. Only 15 players in the history of Bayer 04 have played more games in the top-flight.
A range of stats were as indecisive as the result. The hosts from Berlin had the upper hand in shots on goal (17 to 11) and in challenges (55 to 45%). For the Werkself, the numbers were better in terms of possession (58 to 42%) plus completed passes (78 to 73%).
The reports in the media are almost unanimous in terms of having seen a very lively and entertaining duel. The online edition of the Rheinische Post reports an "exciting second half," the Berlin Tagesspiegel "a very entertaining match." The Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger describes the final scene of the match in their online edition as follows: "In the final seconds, Bayer 04 could have secured a happy ending in the match that would be have been untypical for the season so far when Patrik Schick went through on the Hertha goal. But Marc Oliver Kempf raced in to block the shot and turn it away for a corner."
Bayer 04 now face challenges in a three-day rhythm. The Werkself entertain Atlético Madrid at the BayArena on Tuesday 13 September (kick-off: 21.00 CEST) in the second group match in the Champions League with the next Bundesliga fixture against Werder Bremen following on Saturday 17 September at 15.30 CEST. After that, there is a chance for a breather with the next international break.
Werkself-TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04 Women's 0-1 loss at Bayern Munich in the round of 16 of the women's DFB-Pokal 2026/27
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“As far as mentality and determination are concerned, we have nothing to reproach ourselves for,” Robert Andrich said up after the first home defeat for the Werkself this term. In terms of their play, too, the Black and Reds put in a respectable performance for long stretches of this intense and physical match, outperforming VfB Stuttgart in most areas. It was only in terms of efficiency in front of goal that the Swabians had the edge over the Werkself. Head coach Carles Martínez wants to learn from this so that, in future, they can “win this sort of match too”. The Werkself review.
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Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career working as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personal Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month…
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Having previously recorded six consecutive home wins across all competitions, Bayer 04 suffered their first home defeat of 2026/27 as they went down 4-2 to VfB Stuttgart in the Bundesliga on Matchday 8. The visitors capitalised on their first two chances to score, with Ermedin Demirovic and Jamie Leweling finding the net in the first half. Although Patrik Schick got a goal back in the first half, Bilal El Khannouss and Demirovic again added further goals for Stuttgart. Bayer 04 didn’t give up, but Ibrahim Maza’s goal proved little more than a consolation.
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Fans at the BayArena got to enjoy a spectacle on Wednesday as the Werkself came from behind to beat Nürnberg 5-2 in the DFB Pokal. Now with the sixth home game of the season, can Bayer 04 maintain their perfect record in Leverkusen as VfB Stuttgart come to town in the Bundesliga on Saturday (15:30 CET)? The visitors have had issues domestically this term, sitting in 15th place, although they have had much better results in the UEFA Champions League. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the Matchday 8 encounter…
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