The Kölner Stadt Anzeiger headline reads 'The joy of the chase'. The report continues: "Only two numbers reveal the whole truth in football: Number of goals scored by the one team and the other. In the match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and Fortuna Düsseldorf that says: 2-0 for the Werkself who moved up to fifth place in the Bundesliga on Sunday night with a win for the favourites and they are now the most successful team since the winter break with four wins in five games. At the same time, the world of numbers has expanded in football in recent years. Possession, running, won and lost challenges also play a role as important stats. In the game between Bayer 04 and Fortuna they reveal: 1,053 passes by Bayer 04. 188 passes played by F95. 980 against 129 were successfully completed. 84 per cent possession compared with 16 per cent. That leaves no room for doubt: The match was painfully one-sided and there could only be one winner."
The Kölnische Rundschau notes 'Bayer on the way up' and writes: "The uncontested 2-0 victory over Fortuna Düsseldorf put Julian Brandt in a very relaxed mood – and that was also evident in the Leverkusen's forwards. The left-hand of the 22-year-old was casually placed in his long training jacket and the Bremen-born player expressed himself in a suitably relaxed manner. 'We’ve succeeded in winning our games in the Bundesliga,' said Brandt on the fourth league win for the Werkself in succession and then he made the decisive assessment of the evening: ' Today we played within ourselves at 2-0 rather than driving after the third or fourth goal.'"
'Fourth league win in succession for Leverkusen: Bosz is the best' is the headline in the Bild Zeitung. The article reads: "Super starter Bosz! With the 2-0 win against Düsseldorf, he has made Leverkusen into the best team in the second half of the season. Peter Bosz (55) has been in the job for six weeks and now he has earned a fourth league win in succession in the fifth match. The last time there was a similar run at Bayer was in 2015/16 under Roger Schmidt (51). Leverkusen shoot up to 5th place on course for Europe – the highest position in the season so far!"
The assessment in the Kicker reads: "Bayer Leverkusen are the team at the moment in the Bundesliga and they showed that again in the 2-0 win against Fortuna Düsseldorf. It was a highly deserved victory for Bayer. Düsseldorf's defensive game was focused on staying in contention. Bayer were successful in preventing counter-attacks."
The Cologne newspaper Express writes: "Leverkusen have played their way back into European contention and remain on the front foot under coach Peter Bosz. The Werkself continue to fly high with the 2-0 win against Fortuna Düsseldorf on Sunday and with the fourth win in succession they can even look towards competing for a Champions League spot."
The Rheinische Post quotes the Düsseldorf captain Oliver Fink: 'What Leverkusen showed today was very impressive in terms of skill and technique,' said the 36-year-old appreciatively.' We can learn a lesson from them. Bayer were so dominant and we felt on the pitch that we weren't able to make any challenges.' And that's how it looked for large parts of the game. Most of the time, Fortuna managed to keep the action away from their goal – but at the cost of their own attacks."
Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personalised Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month…
Show moreTo all Bayer 04 fans: The Fanwelt will be closed all day next Monday 30 June. This is due to preparations for the change of kit supplier from Castore to New Balance on Tuesday 1 July.
Show moreThe Norway U23 international Julie Jorde has completed the move from Bayer 04 Leverkusen to Brøndby IF. The twelve-time champions of Denmark have signed the midfielder on permanent terms after her loan move from the Bundesliga to Denmark in the winter.
Show moreIt is almost two years since Bayer 04 new signing Abdoulaye Faye first stepped foot into the BayArena as a player for the Swedish club BK Häcken in the opening match in the 2023/24 Europa League campaign. A day before his nineteenth birthday, the central defender did not play in the 4-0 win for the Werkself but it was "an incredible night" for him on 21 September 2023 as he explained in his first interview on bayer04.de. "I watched the players and saw the fans. I liked it." It was also the first European night early on in his career. He only joined the then champions of Sweden in the cold north of Europe from his home in Senegal a few weeks before that special moment. Bayer04.de profiles our new defender.
Show moreWelcome, Abdoulaye Faye. The 20-year-old Senegalese central defender joins Leverkusen from top-flight Swedish club BK Häcken. In his first interview he talks about his move to Bayer 04 and his targets with the Werkself.
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