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.”
Strengthening the Bayer 04 Leverkusen youth teams: Konstantinos Kotsifakis will join the Werkself from Bundesliga 2 club Hertha Berlin for the 2026/27 season, where he will be a permanent member of the Leverkusen U19 coaching set-up. The German-Greek will also take on an operational role in coaching the Bayer 04 Future Team. The 29-year-old was most recently head coach of the U17s at Hertha Berlin.
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Another award for the Bayer 04 head groundsman and staff: After coming top in the 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2024/25 seasons, the BayArena pitch came second in the Bundesliga Pitch of the Year ranking for the 2025/26 season. VfL Wolfsburg secured the top spot this year, with TSG Hoffenheim in third place.
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Opening opponents, derby weekends, the opponents in the season finale: This information and more will be available to Bayer 04 fans on Thursday, 2 July, when the 2026/27 Bundesliga fixture list is published.
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While the majority of the Bayer 04 Women are enjoying their summer break, nine Werkself players will be on duty for their national teams in the coming days. Three of them are competing for a place at the World Cup, while six are involved in two friendlies with the Germany U23 team.
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