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.”
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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"We didn’t make the right decision at the right moments," said captain Robert Andrich after the 1-0 defeat away to TSG Hoffenheim, where Bayer 04 endeavoured to control the game but failed to score. The Werkself also had two enforced substitutions due to injuries. Nevertheless, the coach, captain and debutant Janis Blaswich are positive about the coming weeks. The Werkself review.
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Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 0-1 loss at TSG Hoffenheim on Matchday 18 of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season...
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No points in the Kraichgau: the Werkself lost 1-0 away to top-six rivals TSG Hoffenheim on Bundesliga Matchday 18. Wouter Burger scored the only goal with a free kick in the ninth minute. In an uneventful contest, the Werkself tried hard to find an equaliser but were repeatedly thwarted.
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The meeting between fifth and sixth on Saturday afternoon (17 January, 15:30 CET) is a hard one to predict. While the Werkself can take confidence from their historic record at TSG Hoffenheim, the hosts are currently enjoying their second-best Bundesliga campaign and have lost just one of their last 10 games. Another good omen for Bayer 04: Daniel Schlager also refereed Leverkusen's last victory in Sinsheim (4-1). The Matchday News.
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