The most important thing from a sporting perspective first: Bayer 04 will again be in Europe in the 2021/22 season - in the Europa League. Following the point earned against the team from the capital and the defeat for Borussia Mönchengladbach (1-2 against Stuttgart), the Werkself are certain of finishing sixth.
The Frankfurter Rundschau headline reads: “Wirtz puts Leverkusen in the Europa League.” The words “shooting star” and “exceptional talent” follow. The opening goal by the striker on 27 minutes is described as follows: “It was also a matter of centimetres but the 18-year-old was just onside at the far post for Wendell’s shot. No other player has scored his sixth goal in the Bundesliga at a younger age.”
The Bild Zeitung also refers to the Wirtz, who recently agreed a contract extension to 2026 at Bayer 04. The headline of their report: “Wirtz now set for the Euros?” And further: “Jogi Löw names his Euros squad on Wednesday. The young international […] can reasonably hope.”
The Rheinische Post refers to the departure of Lars and Sven Bender: “There was a trip to the past before the kick-off in the last home game of the season. Lars and Sven Bender had a quiet send-off. Instead of tumultuous celebrations, chants, choreography and possible tears of emotion, there were a few kind words for the twin brothers, applause from the first team staff and a handshake from the club bosses. […] The pandemic forced the accolade for the two 32-year-olds onto the Internet. With countless comments and tweets, Bayer supporters paid tribute to the Benders’ lifetime achievements.”
In their category of “Moments of the match”, the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger reports as follows: “In his final home game as a professional footballer, Sven came on for two minutes. The 32-year-old, handicapped by a foot injury, was not able to clench his teeth but instead put the wellbeing of the team to the fore just before the end of his playing career as he took the decision on a longer appearance away from the coach Hannes Wolf in a pre-match conversation. Wolf left the question unanswered of whether Bender could start in his final game.”
The opponents on Saturday, 22 May (kick-off: 15.30 CEST) on the final matchday of the 2020/21 season are Borussia Dortmund – Sven Bender’s former club where he played for eight years before his move to Bayer 04.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen will have to manage without centre-back Edmond Tapsoba in the coming weeks. The Burkina Faso international returned to the Werkself from the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco with a muscle injury.
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The Werkself are away to Hamburg SV at the end of the Hinrunde in the 2025/26 Bundesliga campaign. The match at the newly promoted club is on Tuesday night, 13 January (kick-off: 20:30 CET). Ahead of the first encounter with HSV since 2018, Kasper Hjulmand spoke about the strengths of the opponents, lessons learnt from the home defeat against VfB Stuttgart and provided a squad update.
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In Germany, the temperatures are currently around zero, leaving even professional footballers freezing - but not the Bayer 04 Women. Roberto Pätzold's team have fled the cold to the south and are preparing for the second half of the season at a training camp in the Algarve, almost 2,000 kilometres away from home as the crow flies. The Leverkusen squad landed in Faro on Saturday morning and have already completed the first three training sessions over the weekend.
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It was a disappointing Saturday night. The Werkself lost 4-1 to VfB Stuttgart to start the new year on Bundesliga matchday 16 in 2025/26, a result that left both players and fans disappointed. "We played without any passion," said Alejandro Grimaldo honestly afterwards. Teammate Jarell Quansah was even more self-critical, emphasising: "We were miles off it in the first half. You can't put in a performance like that, especially in front of our own fans and I can only apologise to them, to be honest." Read on for the reaction, facts and stats from the clash with VfB Stuttgart in the Werkself review.
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