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.”
Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personalised Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month.
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Kasper Hjulmand has led the Werkself back to winning ways and is back in the knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League with Bayer 04 after the 3-0 win against Villarreal on Wednesday evening. In an interview with the Werkself magazine at the BayArena in the team meeting room, directly opposite the dressing room, he provided some special insights for the current issue, which was published in January. A conversation with the 53-year-old coach about values, attitudes and personal experiences as well as interests outside of football.
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The thrilling 3-1 win for Bayer 04 against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Hinrunde is a fond memory for Alejandro Grimaldo, with his brace from free kicks, and coach Kasper Hjulmand, who was in the dugout under the Cross for the first time. Now comes the return fixture in the metropolis on the River Main and after going out of the DFB Pokal and the Champions League, the full focus at Eintracht, currently managed by two interim coaches, is now on the Bundesliga. For their part, the Werkself will do everything in their power to continue the longest winning run against a Bundesliga club. The matchday news.
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Bayer 04 have ended Artem Stepanov’s loan deal at Nürnberg and agreed a new loan to Utrecht in the Netherlands. The Ukrainian striker did not play as much as hoped for at the Bundesliga 2 club and will now continue his development in the Eredivisie for the rest of 2025/26.
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The draw for the knockout play-offs of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League was made on Friday, 30 January and saw Bayer 04 paired with Olympiacos. It’s a reunion with the Greek side following the Werkself’s 2-0 loss in Athens on Matchday 7 of the league phase.
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