The Berliner Morgenpost believes the Werkself were "distracted and careless from the start and their approach provided unexpected help for the neighbours." And the Kölner Stadt Anzeiger was surprised by the Bayer 04 display in the 62nd Bundesliga derby and added: "It was bewildering how readily Heiko Herrlich's team, without Lars Bender (injured) and Kevin Volland (birth of his daughter), fell into all the traps almost voluntarily after a run of ten away games without defeat. Poor passes, pointless dribbling and weak challenges led to losing possession and FC Köln counter-attacks that put the Werkself under constant pressure. The rest was down to individual errors." The Frankfurter Allgemeine reports: "In all aspects of the game – breaking moves down, tackling and challenging, one-on-ones, the will to win– the relegation-threatened big club were superior to their neighbours positioned much higher up the table."
According to the report in the Süddeutsche Zeitung, "the favourites from the other side of the Rhine played more or less as coach Heiko Herrlich had feared in public when he provided his preview of the derby, specifically warning against FC Köln's quality. In spite of that, his team demonstrated inexplicable lethargy against their opponents with the highly talented forward line of Kai Havertz, Leon Bailey and Julian Brandt leading the way.".The Rheinische Post adopted a similar view with the reporter focusing on the importance of attitude in football that Heiko Herrlich often talks about and the game was summed up under the headline 'Köln's mentality beats Bayer's quality.'
The Tagesspiegel writes that the Bayer 04 game did liven up with the introduction of Joel Pohjanpalo at the start of the second half, "but, other than good chances for Julian Brandt and Sven Bender, there wasn't much doing. The result was settled by Simon Zoller when he exploited a mistake by Charles Aranguiz to easily make it 2-0." That means Bayer 04 have missed "the chance to improve their position in terms of the four Champions League spots. The team under coach Heiko Herrlich remain in fifth place." (Ruhr Nachrichten)
In addition to the many unusual defects in the Werkself game, the press focus on the red card shown to Lucas Alario (33') – the Kölnische Rundschau identified the violent conduct of the Werkself's Argentinian striker as the "crucial moment in Leverkusen's game," as he "made it more difficult for his team to get back into the game." (Frankfurter Allgemeine) – "The Bayer coach Heiko Herrlich had warned his players before the derby and pointed out they had to keep control of their nerves in spite of the emotion of the game." (Kölnische Rundschau)
The Kicker highlights an unenviable statistic in this respect: "For the fourth time this season after the matches against Leipzig, Dortmund and Schalke. Bayer, with 35 red cards before half-time the holders of an unenviable Bundesliga record, only picked up two points in those four games."
The Werkself are away to Premier League club Chelsea in the final pre-season friendly. The game against the current holders of the UEFA Conference League is on Friday, 8 August at Stamford Bridge with the kick-off at 20:00 CEST. Read on for information on ticket sales.
Show moreThe Werkself are away to Dutch top-flight club Fortuna Sittard in the third pre-season friendly. The match is on Friday, 1 August at the Fortuna Sittard stadium with the kick-off at 19:00 CEST. Read on for information on ticket sales.
Show moreThe Werkself are away to VfL Bochum in the second pre-season friendly. The match is on Sunday, 27 July at the Vonovia Ruhrstadion with the kick-off at 18:00 CEST. Read on for the latest information on ticket sales.
Show moreA striking look and innovative design as an expression of a forward-looking partnership: With the official presentation of the current home jersey, Bayer 04 Leverkusen and sports equipment manufacturer New Balance start a new era in tandem. For the first partnership with a professional German club, the American company from Boston, Massachusetts has developed a creative new interpretation of the Leverkusen club colours. A row of red lines, made up of slender crosses, merges into a black background. Inspired by the world famous Bayer Cross, the jersey is a symbol of a new beginning without forgetting historical roots.
Show moreThe Werkself home jersey for the 2025/ 26 season is here! A row of red lines, made up of slender crosses, merges into a black background. Inspired by the world famous Bayer Cross, the jersey is a symbol of a new beginning without forgetting our historical roots. The new home jersey is available now from the Bayer 04 shops and the online shop.
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