The Kölner Stadt Anzeiger reaches the following conclusion: "Bayer 04 had BVB up against the Yellow Wall at times – and lost." The report continues: "It wasn't really clear whether disappointment or pride had the upper hand with Bayer 04 Leverkusen. They completely dominated the league leaders in front of the most impressive crowd in the Bundesliga. They recovered from setbacks - but lost 3-2 against Borussia Dortmund in the end.“ ...The kick-off was the starting shot for an impressive 30-minute all-out attack by the nominally more defensive Leverkusen side. Julian Brandt, Kai Havertz and Charles Aránguiz ran rings round Dortmund. Such dominance by visitors to the Signal Iduna Park has not been seen for a long time. 75 per cent possession, 200 passes by Leverkusen compared with 80 from Dortmund. The only thing missing for the Werkself was a goal."
The Kicker chose this headline: "No points for Bayer but near to perfection." The report continues: "Bayer pinned back BVB in the first 30 minutes with a mixture of confidence, comfort on the ball and accurate passing and they put them under incredible pressure. Bayer were completely on top at this stage but could not get the ball in the BVB net. ...In the end it was absolutely avoidable defeat."
The Bild Zeitung declares: "Bosz run ends at Dortmund" and they quote the BVB coach Lucien Favre: "We struggled against Bayer." And Lukas Hradecky also shared his assessment: "We were on top of Dortmund up to the first goal. The way we played was good. Therefore, I'm convinced we can finish in the top six."
The Kölnische Rundschau sums up the 90 minutes at Dortmund with the headline: "Pedigree, class and five goals."
And the Dortmund media knew how to correctly rank the flattering victory for BVB. The Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung reports: "League leaders struggle to 3-2 win against Leverkusen." And the Ruhr Nachrichten came to the conclusion from a Borussia perspective: "Luck in games has returned."
The highly successful and mutually appreciated partnership between Bayer 04 and head coach Xabi Alonso ends after two and a half years. The 43-year-old Spaniard has led the Werkself to three trophies. Above all, winning the first German league title in the club's history will always be associated with the name of Xabi Alonso. The former world class player, who won many hearts in Leverkusen as a person, now says farewell to Bayer 04. We look back at a fantastic time with the Basque who fulfilled the biggest dream of all Bayer 04 fans together with an outstanding team.
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A few weeks ago Borussia Dortmund were marooned in mid-table mediocrity in the Bundesliga. Then the Black and Yellows started a run that overcame all comers. And suddenly a Champions League spot was again within reach. BVB will be looking to take the next step towards the big target at the BayArena on Sunday, 11 May (kick-off: 15:30 CEST). Coach Niko Kovac has almost his full squad available. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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A cracker of a semi-final at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. The Bayer 04 U19 team entertain Bayern Munich on Saturday, 10 May (kick-off: 11:00 CEST/stadium opens: 10:00 CEST). In front of a home crowd, the team led by head coach Sergi Runge, who welcomes back an attacking player, is looking to build on the battling performances from the previous knockout games and "perform at the right moment." Tickets are available from the Bayer 04 online shop and the game will also be broadcast live on Sky.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen will be the first Bundesliga club to open and operate a football academy in Brazil. The "Bayer 04 Football Academy São Paulo," led by Bayer 04 club legend Paulo Sérgio, will be established on the Bayer Brazil campus in São Paulo and accommodate up to 300 children and youth ages 5 to 15.
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