The Werkself were in the driving seat from the start and an Amine Adli cross evaded Victor Boniface after ten minutes. Bayer 04 continued to dominate possession, but the home side won the ball again and again and had the better chances. Benedikt Gimber hit the woodwork (26’) and Marvin Pieringer missed two opportunities (33’, 34’). Leverkusen struggled to find a way through the Heidenheim defence in the second half, but the home side also failed to threaten. Two subs relieved the Werkself minutes after coming on. Jonas Hofmann set up Emiliano Buendía, who scored the only goal from distance in added time (90’+1). CLICK HERE for the match report.
Head coach Xabi Alonso summed up the game as follows at the post-match press conference: “It was another match that was very emotional and hard-fought until the end. It wasn’t our best performance. We had the same problems as before, but it was important to celebrate a success again after Tuesday. We’re in an important phase of the season, so it wasn’t about the how today, it was about the what, and that’s what counts. It was a hard week for us, both mentally and physically. Now we have time to recover.”
Alonso praised match-winners Buendía and Hofmann: “Emi was always prepared. He’s shown great attitude in every training session, he deserved to play. Jonas was in a similar situation recently and did a very good job today. We need all our players to display this energy in the last six matches.”
Granit Xhaka commented: “It was the tough game we expected. It was physically and mentally hard for us after the recent defeat in Bielefeld, where we deserved to lose. You saw that, but it’s human that we need some more days to digest everything. We knew we had to win today to keep up with FC Bayern, which is why the match was a bit dour. But at the end of the day it’s the points that count in football.” The Swiss star added: “The subs definitely made the difference today, which shows how strong our squad is. Now we want to relax a little and recharge our batteries for the final spurt.”
The kicker headline read: “Buendía’s late shot shocks Heidenheim.” The Rheinische Post called it a “flattering 1-0 victory.” The Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger said: “Leverkusen keep title race open: The Werkself maintained the six-point deficit despite a very poor performance,” adding in praise of Buendía: “Outstanding shot off the inside of the post.” The Bild-Zeitung agreed: “Despite poor performance in Heidenheim: LATERkusen avert knockout in title race.”
Buendía scored his first Bundesliga goal for Bayer 04 in his seventh match. He is Leverkusen’s 17th different scorer this campaign, a joint league high with Eintracht Frankfurt. Robert Andrich made his 150th competitive appearance for Bayer 04 – congratulations!
Bayer 04 racked up six shots on goal to Heidenheim’s ten. The Werkself had 52 percent of the possession and won 50 percent of their tackles. They had a pass completion rate of 85.6 percent (Heidenheim: 80.1 percent).
Bayer 04 take on Union Berlin at the BayArena on Saturday, 12 April (kick-off: 15:30 CEST) before travelling to Hamburg to face St. Pauli on Sunday, 20 April (kick-off: 19:30 CEST).
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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