The first Bundesliga fixture of 2025 took less than a minute to spark to life inside a sold-out Signal Iduna Park, as Nathan Tella hammered the ball into the back of the Dortmund net after just 25 seconds. Patrik Schick then doubled the advantage with only eight minutes on the clock. The hosts got one back through Jamie Gittens shortly after, but Schick restored the two-goal cushion after 19 minutes as the Werkself took a 3-1 lead into half-time. Things were calmer after the restart until Schick was denied a hat-trick by Gregor Kobel. The game then burst back to life when referee Tobias Stieler awarded a penalty to Dortmund on review after Edmond Tapsoba tangled with Julien Duranville, which Serhou Guirassy put away to bring it back to 3-2 with just over 10 minutes remaining. The champions saw it out, though, to chalk up their first three points of the new year. You can read the full match report HERE.
“I’m ready to score at any time. It makes me proud when I can help the team with my goals,” said Schick in the aftermath. Asked further about Dortmund’s defensive absences, the Czech striker added: “It doesn’t matter who plays or doesn’t for the opposition. We got a clear plan from the coach for the game and followed it. Defending so well against such a good team in this stadium is hugely important. We’ll take that into the next games.”
Granit Xhaka also addressed the state of play at the top of the table: “We’re only looking at ourselves. When we do our job with diligence, then we can achieve a lot.” The Swiss midfielder said of the display in Dortmund: “It was a performance on the whole today that meant we deserved all three points. There are easier opponents to start off than Borussia Dortmund away. What matters is the three points. They help us and we’re happy to have them.”
Head coach Xabi Alonso said of the evening: “I’m happy with the win and also the performance. It was a very serious performance by us. It was important for our development because we want to continue down our path and so are pleased with this positive start to the new year.”
Bild ran with the headline “Bayer only a point behind Bayern now!” and wrote about a “great start to the new Bundesliga year”. The Express summarised the game by saying, “Bayer overpower BVB but still left sweating on result”. In kicker they said, “Leverkusen outfox Dortmund’s makeshift defence in rapid start to new year”.
Schick has carried his excellent form into the new year. He’s got six goals in the last 90 minutes he’s been on the pitch in the Bundesliga and is now up to 11 league goals for the campaign – all scored across his last six appearances. No other player has more than five since the start of Matchday 10. Only Harry Kane (14) and Omar Marmoush (13) remain ahead of the Leverkusen striker in the division’s scoring chart for 2024/25.
Jeremie Frimpong is also in impressive form, especially away from home, where he has a goal and two assists across his last three Bundesliga outings on the road. The Dutch wide man now has two goals and five assists to his name in the league this season, plus four provisions in six Champions League games.
The Werkself have scored a league-high eight goals in the first 15 minutes of Bundesliga games this season. The Dortmund game was also the first time since March 2000’s record 9-1 win in Ulm that Leverkusen scored three times in the first 19 minutes of an away game in the league.
On top of that, Tella’s finish after just 25 seconds was the quickest Bayer 04 have netted in the Bundesliga since August 2014 when Karim Bellarabi – also in Dortmund – scored the joint-fastest goal in the league’s history after nine seconds.
The Werkself now have two home games in the Bundesliga this coming week. Mainz are the first visitors to the BayArena for a midweek round of fixtures on Tuesday (8.30pm CET). Borussia Mönchengladbach then come to Leverkusen on Saturday (6.30pm).
Bayer 04 will be preparing young talents for a potential sporting career in an even more systematic way in future. The club is breaking new ground to help develop their academic, social and personal skills as well. With the ‘Haus der Talente' or 'Talent House’, Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH is creating a new centre for the development of young athletes in a central location in Leverkusen. Once completed – expected to be in the summer of 2027 – the project will be run in partnership with TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen e.V.
Show more
Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 1-3 loss against Werder Bremen on the 26th matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2025/26.
Show more
Bayer 04 Women have finished in fifth place after the best Bundesliga season in the club's history in terms of points. Roberto Pätzold's side went down 3-1 at home to SV Werder Bremen on the final matchday. With 46 points and 15 wins, they've bettered the previous record campaign of 2024/25. Despite periods of pressure, Cornelia Kramer's 73rd-minute strike was not enough at the Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion, and the Werkself miss out on European qualification despite a strong end to the season.
Show more
Bayer 04 Leverkusen have agreed a conract extension with home-grown talent Sofie Zdebel by a further year ahead of schedule. The 21-year-old Germany U23 international will stay at the club until 30 June 2028.
Show more
