The assessment in the Welt am Sonntag: "After three games without a goal, nobody believed Leverkusen capable of a miracle . The game ended 3-2 leaving them three goals short of a place in the Champions League. That was clearly on the cards against a weak Hannover side. But Bayer were out of luck on the day: Wendell missed a penalty (6') and a second was chalked off after the referee Winkmann consulted the VAR (85')."
Der Tagesspiegel reports: "Coach Heiko Herrlich brought on striker Stefan Kießling late in the game and he was ready to take the opportunity to score in his final Bundesliga game. However, referee Guido Winkmann changed his mind about the penalty he awarded just before Kießling came on after consulting the VAR. Going 4-0 up would have put pressure back on Dortmund in the race for a Champions League berth."
The Berliner Morgenpost highlighted the tension in the battle for Champions League qualification: "Hoffenheim and Leverkusen traded blows: The quick 2-0 lead for Bayer through Lucas Alario saw Leverkusen briefly put TSG out of the running for the Champions League places. When Reus leveled for Dortmund against Hoffenheim, the dream of playing in Europe's elite competition was alive for five minutes at the BayArena with Julian Brandt making it 3-0. In the end it was Leverkusen's opponents Hannover who ended hopes of qualifying for the Champions League with goals from Niklas Füllkrug and Martin Harnik."
The Express on the last match for Kies: "After long calls from the Bayer fans of "We want Stefan" , it happened on 84 minutes. The whole of the crowd rose to their feet as Bayer legend Stefan Kießling raced onto the pitch for his 403rd Bundesliga game."
And the Bild am Sonntag farewell reads: "Stefan Kießling (34) wins with Leverkusen in a 3-2 victory against Hannover in the final match of his career - and he is in tears after the game. And not just because Leverkusen missed out on the Champions League. Leverkusen's legend striker (403 Bundesliga games, 144 goals, at the club since 2006) was thrown up in the air by his team-mates after the final whistle and then he was surrounded by the fans with tears in his eyes."
FC Augsburg are top of the table for the first time in their Bundesliga history. After two wins for starters, FCA lead the German top-flight with six points and a goal difference of 7 to 1. This Saturday, 12 September (kick-off: 15:30 CEST), Augsburg are looking to build on their strong start to the season against the Werkself. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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The German Football Association (DFB) confirmed the kick-off times for the second round of the 2026/27 DFB Pokal on Thursday. Bayer 04 will meet 1. FC Nürnberg on Wednesday 28 October at 20:45 CET.
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This Wednesday afternoon, the German Football Association (DFB) announced the exact kick-off times for Matchday 6 in the Google Pixel Women’s Bundesliga. According to the fixture list, the Bayer 04 Women’s home match against Werder Bremen will be played on Friday, 2 October, at 18:30 CEST.
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Just in time for the start of the school year, everyone was hard at work again at NaturGut Ophoven. For the 21st time, Bayer 04 have supported the annual ‘BioBrotbox’ campaign, which puts together a healthy breakfast for first-year primary school pupils in Leverkusen – and not only contributed 1,904 muesli bars but also plenty of enthusiasm too: Together with the U19 players Burak Kir and Clinton Wilson, Emily Wallrabenstein and Paulina Platner from the Women’s Bundesliga team helped with the packing. The latter was clearly delighted “that Bayer 04 are helping out with regional projects like this and showing their commitment to the local community”.
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