The Bild headline reads, ‘Double Alario deals with Augsburg’ and goes on to report: “Really impressive: Alario scores in his third game on the bounce!” The tabloid rightly awards the 28-year-old top marks. The performances of Edmond Tapsoba and Leon Bailey also received recognition.
“Man of the Match with two goals was Lucas Alario. In the absence of star new signing Patrik Schick, the Argentinian again demonstrated his qualities and took the Werkself up to fourth place,” reports the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger. The penalty for handball leading to the 1-0 lead (16’) was converted by Alario with “power and accuracy.” The central striker put the Werkself back in front on 74 minutes – with his fourth goal in the last three games.
The Kölnische Rundschau highlights the football philosophy of the former Leverkusen and now FCA coach: “Heiko Herrlich brought a veritable plan with him to his former stomping ground. Herrlich knows from his time under the Bayer Cross what makes Leverkusen tick and he asked his team to press high and be aggressive from the start. The hosts shouldn’t have any time to do anything.” The plan worked out “but the Werkself defence stood firm. The mature defensive performance can be seen as a new achievement early on in the season.”
After the third win in succession, the Express describes a “perfect week” – both for Bayer 04 and Alario. “The matchwinner secures the home win – and a sweet victory for Bosz against his predecessor.”
Looking at the history of the Augsburg team is covered in the report by the Rheinische Post. FCA have already beaten Munich and Dortmund since promotion to the top flight in 2011 and they have even played in the Europa League. “The Bavarian Swabians have not been able to beat Bayer Leverkusen up to now.” Twelve defeats and six draws – a modest return ahead of the game for Augsburg. The first win against the Werkself remained elusive on Monday night. The assessment of the newspaper: “Bayer Leverkusen remain Augsburg’s bogey team.”
With their wonderful goals, Martin Terrier and Florian Wirtz are up for the Bundesliga Goal of the Year 2025. Voting for fans will run exclusively via the official Bundesliga app until Sunday, 4 January.
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Last-minute ecstasy, huge disappointment and a historic performance on the European stage - 2025 was a real emotional roller coaster, especially for the U19s. A rousing run in the knockout phase secured the team a place in the final of the German championships, where they lost by the narrowest of margins. Despite the departure of several key players, the young Werkself team quickly regained their usual strength and qualified for the knockout rounds in the UEFA Youth League for the first time at the end of the year. In 2025, youngsters Jeremiah Mensah and Montrell Culbreath made their debuts in the Bundesliga, the DFB Pokal and the UEFA Champions League. The other youth teams also contributed great performances and a number of trophies to the collective Black and Red success, while the successful Bayer 04 Future Kids project broke new ground. Read on for the 2025 review of the youth teams.
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Four Bayer 04 players are in action at the 35th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations being played in Morocco from 21 December to 18 January 2026: Eliesse Ben Seghir for the hosts, Edmond Tapsoba with Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Maza for Algeria and Christian Kofane with Cameroon. Updates on the AFCON matches involving Werkself players...
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A memorable 12 months: 2025 was a year marked by success, intense competition and groundbreaking innovations for the #B04eSports team. After ending the 2024/25 season as runners-up, the Leverkusen-based console pros got down to business in a new, completely restructured season model, in which showdowns rather than divisions were the decisive factor on the road to the final round of the German Club Championship. Bayer 04 quickly earned a place in the history books of the most prestigious competition in German eSports and secured some valuable advantages for the coming year. Bayer04.de takes a look back at 12 months full of passion and the determination to take the next step.
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Sustainability once again had many faces at Bayer 04 in 2025: In community activity, the club supported countless regional campaigns, including the Leverkusener Tafel, the Frauenennotruf Leverkusen e.V. and the homeless aid organisation "Kältegang". But the Black and Reds have also been involved in good causes around the world - including the Young Coaches training programmes in Uganda and Ecuador plus the Genuine World Cup in the USA, where the Inclusion Werkself competed. Bayer 04 was also fully committed to the environment and underwent external and independently certification in accordance with the European environmental management standard EMAS, for example, to analyse and optimise the club’s environmental efforts. Looking back at sustainability in 2025.
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