Xabi Alonso made seven changes to his team from the dramatic win over Qarabag, and the Werkself got off to the perfect start when Florian Wirtz’s solo run and curling finish into the far corner got the 3,400 travelling Bayer 04 fans celebrating inside two minutes at the Europa-Park Stadion. The joy was only short-lived, though, as Ritsu Doan levelled after 10 minutes. Things calmed down after that until the final stages of the half when Adam Hlozek restored the lead going into the break. The Werkself continued to push after the restart and were quickly rewarded when Patrik Schick turned in Jeremie Frimpong’s cross via the help of both posts. Yannik Keitel got another back for the hosts with around 10 minutes to go, but the league leaders held on for a 3-2 win – the team’s seventh in a row in the Bundesliga to extend Bayer 04’s unbeaten run this season to 38 games. Read more about the match in our report.
“It’s fun to be on the pitch with these guys every week, and it was fun again from the start today. We were well set up for a tough game and immediately focused. We’ll continue to work hard and give everything every day,” said Wirtz after the game to Werkself-TV. Schick, who got his fourth goal in as many games, said of his run: “I work hard, just like all of us. And obviously it helps to have good crosses from my teammates, like today from Jeremie for my goal. Now is the most important part of the season, and we need every single player for that.”
“Bayer 04 pass Freiburg test” was the headline from the Rheinische Post. The Süddeutsche Zeitung didn’t believe it was an “overwhelming display” but Leverkusen “just keep on winning”. Bild highlighted the stat of 33 wins from that 38-match unbeaten run and described it as the streak “of champions”. kicker referred to the win as the “calm after the crazy” of the Qarabag result.
Jonathan Tah made his 250th Bundesliga appearance for Bayer 04, having made his league debut for the club in the 2-1 win at home to Hoffenheim on 15 August 2015. Tah himself said after the game in Freiburg: “I’m very pleased about this milestone. A lot of nice things have happened down the years and in all those games. I personally have come on a lot, but the club and the team have also taken big steps forward. We now want to keep gibing our all and reap the rewards for this season.”
Goalscorer Hlozek made his 50th Bundesliga appearance in Leverkusen colours, while Wirtz equalled his personal best campaign for league goals scored with seven.
Victory in Freiburg was Bayer 04’s sixth in a row away from home in the Bundesliga – a new club record. That streak began with the 1-0 win in Augsburg and has been followed by success in Leipzig, Darmstadt, Heidenheim and Cologne. The Werkself lead the Bundesliga for away points this season with 35 out of a possible 39, followed in second by Bayern (26).
The stats from the Freiburg game also went the way of Alonso’s men with 68 percent possession, 52 percent of challenges won, 19-11 on shots and a better passing rate (92 vs. 79 percent).
There’s a week off for the final international break of the year before Bayer 04 welcome Hoffenheim to the BayArena on Saturday, 30 March (3.30pm CET). That’s the start of three weeks of games every three/four days.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen have signed 16-year-old midfield prospect Gabriel Minutillo on a long-term contract. The Germany youth international will play for the U19s this season.
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Bayer 04 preparations for the 2026/27 season are in full swing, with the first friendly now under their belts. Although there are still around seven weeks to go until the first Bundesliga home game in early September, there is already huge anticipation for the start of competitive action for head coach Carles Martínez’s team at the BayArena. For the Bundesliga home matches of the new season, here is the latest information regarding the first phase of single-match ticket sales. The tried-and-tested early-bird phase remains in place. From 23 to 31 July, tickets for matches will go on sale on weekdays; the early-bird phase ends on 5 August at the latest – provided tickets are still available by then.
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Like last year, Bayer 04 Women held their summer training camp in Rieden. Coach Roberto Pätzold gives his assessment of the time in the Upper Palatinate, discusses the integration of the 11 new players and the unusual team building measures, gives his thoughts on the friendly and looks ahead to the start of the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga season in August.
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Just in time for the start of the summer holidays in North Rhine-Westphalia, the Werkself will hold another open training session on Tuesday 21 July. The session at the BayArena is scheduled to start at 11:00 CEST and will again be available to watch in a live stream. The fans who are there can look forward to a very special surprise.
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Bayer 04 Women rounded off their one-week training camp in the Upper Palatinate with their second friendly win of pre-season. Coach Roberto Pätzold's side beat Czech top-flight outfit Slovan Liberec 6-0 in a match consisting of 4 x 30 minutes. Maja Sternad (8'), Caroline Kehrer (55'), Natasha Kowalski (67', 84') with two direct free kicks, Valentina Mädl (97') and Justine Brandau (107') scored the goals for Leverkusen at 1.FC Rieden's Fenstertechnik-Weinfurtner-Arena.
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