The Frankfurter Rundschau use those words for their headline on the 65th derby. The report continues: "Bayer Leverkusen easily dealt with FC Köln ahead of the clash with FC Bayern.[...] special wins even have to be celebrated in empty stadiums: At the end of their masterful performance in the biggest derby away win, the Bayer Leverkusen players celebrated loudly in front of the empty away end."
One reason for this celebration were the goals from two former Köln players. Mitchell Weiser, initially due to be on the bench, was a late stand-in for Lars Bender (precautionary measure due to thigh problem) – and eight minutes later he scored the opener. The Bild describes the opening goal: "The former Köln player volleyed the ball into the net from ten metres out. Weiser of all people!"
After the second goal from Moussa Diaby (10’) and the third from Patrik Schick (55’), another former FC Köln player struck. With 59 minutes on the clock, Florian Wirtz gave "Horn no chance. A debacle for FC. And more than sweet revenge for the bitter derby defeat a year ago for Bayer." Finally, the Bild reports: "Leverkusen are warming up for the top match on Saturday against Bayern."
In their headline, the Rheinische Post opts for the words "Bayer overrun Köln". The newspaper also looks at the concept of a derby. Their wording: "Nobody at FC wanted to talk about a real derby in the build-up. The word was avoided where possible. Clashes against Mönchengladbach or Düsseldorf might deserve that description but the game against Leverkusen? But everybody interested in football away from the cathedral city would say of course. But the demonstrative failure to take the rivals from the other side of the Rhine seriously is part of Cologne folklore. That has probably driven by jealousy as the Werkself are top of the table while FC have to worry about relegation – once again. Nothing changed after the game as Leverkusen deservedly won by a 4-0 margin at the neighbours."
The Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger talks about Köln having had "no chance" and the Werkself being "vastly superior". The FC goalkeeper Timo Horn adopts a similar view as he is quoted in the paper: "' Leverkusen overrun us from the first minute. We didn't stand a chance today.'" Midfield dynamo Nadiem Amiri was given the top mark, Leon Bailey and Diaby each got a "1.5". All the other outfield players received an impressive "2".
The Süddeutsche Zeitung refers to the forthcoming festive season in their report ("Four for the Christmas tree"): "Leverkusen played so quickly and so well that he could easily imagine a Christmas bauble from the Bayer fan shop being hung on a Christmas tree somewhere in Cologne."
The sports journal kicker talks about the "great confidence" that Bayer 04 can now take into the top match against second-placed Bayern Munich. The game is at the BayArena on Saturday, 19 December (kick-off: 18.30 CET). The kicker declares: "The next package can be unwrapped on Saturday in the top match against Bayern."
Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 1-2 loss against VfL Wolfsburg on the 2nd matchday of the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga 2026/27.
In the 3-2 defeat at Bundesliga newcomers SV 07 Elversberg, the Werkself found the back of the net in the closing stages and, with a bit of luck, could still have equalised. “Today, our play wasn’t good enough, particularly when it came to the basics,” said head coach Carles Martínez. Like the boss, Ibrahim Maza also wants to learn from the match and look ahead: “Next week, people should be able to see from the very first minute that we want it more than our opponents.” The Werkself review on the Bundesliga opener in 2026/27.
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No points to start the league campaign: Bayer 04 lost 3-2 away to newly promoted SV 07 Elversberg in the first Bundesliga match of the 2026/27 campaign. Two quick-fire goals from Lukas Petkov (8’) and Cole Campbell (10’) gave the hosts an early lead, before David Mokwa scored the Saarland side’s third shortly after half-time (46’). In the closing stages, the Werkself rallied and staged a late comeback with goals from Patrik Schick (77’) and Christian Kofane (90+1’), but the Black and Reds were denied an equaliser.
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The Black and Reds kick off the new Bundesliga campaign today, Saturday 29 August (kick-off 15:30 CEST), away to newly promoted SV 07 Elversberg – and the Werkself will come up against a familiar face who is currently causing a stir at ‘Elv’. For an affordable and easy journey to the Saarland, the 1,600 travelling fans can still use the WERKSELFgo car-share platform. Today’s matchday news..
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The European jersey has been launched, the UEL opponents have been drawn – and anticipation for the European campaign is running high. To mark the occasion, an autograph session was held on Friday afternoon, 28 August, at the Fanwelt with current Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and official club legend Paulo Sergio.
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