Eintracht Frankfurt made the more determined impression from the kick-off. The team from Hessen attacked the goal minded by Lukas Hradecky several times in the opening 15 minutes with Kolo Muani a constant threat. Bayer 04 only mounted one real attack when Jeremie Frimpong met an excellent cross from Moussa Diaby at the far post and his volley hit the top of the bar (33'). The hosts took a deserved lead in added time at the end of the first half: Hradecky saved a penalty from Muani but the spot-kick had to be retaken as the keeper had one foot in front of the goalline. Daichi Kamada stepped up and converted to make it 1-0. There was a brief hope after the break when Piero Hincapie scored with a diving header from a Kerem Demirbay free kick to level at 1-1 (56'). But Eintracht Frankfurt restored the lead with Muani putting the hosts 2-1 up (58'). Then it was downhill for the Black and Reds: Jesper Lindström (65'), another penalty from Kamada (72'), which saw Hincapie sent off for a second yellow card offence, and finally Lucas Alario (86') netted for the final score of 5-1. HERE is the match report.
There were no doubts in the Bayer 04 ranks: This display was unsatisfactory. "We have to be honest to ourselves and we can't think that it's all going well and we’ll pick up points sometime soon. Everybody has to know the time has come. We definitely have to get a home win against Wolfsburg on Saturday," said Robert Andrich. "You can lose games but it's about how that happens," added Kerem Demirbay. Xabi Alonso said: "We had lots of problems and lacked the necessary intensity from the start. There are no excuses, everything is our responsibility. Now we have to believe and show we can do much better. It's all down to us."
Due to the absence of Callum Hudson-Odoi, who picked up a knock to his knee in the week in the Champions League clash with Porto and thereby missed the match in Frankfurt, Xabi Alonso named Paulinho in the starting eleven – the first outing for the Brazilian this season. However, it was another South American who was centre stage: Piero Hincapie. The Ecuador central defender first succeeded in scoring the equaliser for Leverkusen but then had some unfortunate moments in defence. For the third Eintracht goal scored by Lindström, Hincapie accidentally headed the ball into the Norwegian’s path, the 4-1 came from a penalty given for a foul on Muani. Hincapie was shown a second yellow card and he will miss the Werkself game against Wolfsburg on Saturday.
Some categories had narrow differences, for example possession (50.9% for the Werkself), with pass completion (87.2% for Frankfurt, 84.9% for Bayer 04) or challenges won (52.1% for Eintracht). The superiority of the team from Hessen was clear in terms of shots on goal: the stats reveal a ratio 19 to 5 in their favour.
There was also unanimity in the media: It was a deserved win for Eintracht Frankfurt and a disappointing match for the Werkself. "It was a desolate performance by the visitors," declared the Bild am Sonntag. "Margin of the defeat was deserved too," reported the Rheinische Post. "Frankfurt take Bayer apart," was the assessment in kicker. "Leverkusen were second best in every respect," was the view of the Süddeutsche Zeitung. The Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger only excluded one Leverkusen player from their collective critique: "Nothing was good for Bayer 04 with the exception of Lukas Hradecky. And everything was bad except for Hradecky."
Now is the last phase for Bayer 04 up to the World Cup in the middle of November where there will be a whole week to prepare for the next challenge and the next opponents. The Werkself entertain VfL Wolfsburg at the BayArena on Saturday 22 October (kick-off: 15.30 CEST). That is followed by another three double-fixture weeks in succession for Leverkusen.
The second international break of the 2025/26 season will begin after the Bundesliga match against Union Berlin (Saturday, 4 October, 15:30 CEST). The latest information on call-ups.
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Alejo Sarco and Argentina won their second group match at the U20 World Cup in Chile on Wednesday night. They beat Australia 4-1 with Sarco setting the tone early with a goal in the third minute. As in the first group game against Cuba, where Sarco scored twice, the 19-year-old was also named "Player of the Match" against Australia.
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Second game, second draw in the UEFA Champions League 2025/26: The Werkself were held to a 1-1 draw by Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven on matchday two in the league phase. After an early but brief setback in the form of an offside goal by Ivan Perisic for the visitors (5'), the Werkself took control and created numerous good chances in the first half. Leverkusen took a deserved lead after the break in the 65th minute through Christian Kofane. However, PSV's Ismael Saibari replied a few minutes later to level at 1-1 (72').
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In the second match in the league phase of the UEFA Champions League 2025/26, the Werkself host PSV Eindhoven this Wednesday evening, 1 October (kick-off: 21:00 CEST/live on DAZN and on Werkself Radio). PSV have injury problems but are in confident mood after winning two consecutive league titles. PSV coach Peter Bosz and keeper Matej Kovar are two familiar faces who have fond memories of their Bayer 04 days. The latest information on the UCL match at the BayArena can be found in out matchday news.
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Bayer 04 beat PSV Eindhoven 3-2 on matchday two to clock up the next three points in the UCL Youth League 2025/26. In front of just under 500 spectators at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium, the visitors from the Netherlands led at half-time, but the Werkself turned the game round in the second 45. That makes it two wins on the bounce after the victory in Copenhagen.
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