
“Bayer 04 have continued their upward trend in the Bundesliga” – that is the start of the analysis in the F.A.Z.. The journal continues: In a watchable encounter with the Sport Club on the back of a mediocre start to the season, the Argentinian Lucas Alario was the man of the match.” The central striker turned the game around before half-time with two goals following the early concession of the opening goal and thereby set his team on course for the third league win in succession.
Looking at the previous fixtures against the team from the Breisgau, the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger starts as follows. “There were only three goals to be seen in the last three Leverkusen appearances at FC Freiburg,” the report read. Another fact followed: “The Werkself are unbeaten after six matchdays for the first time in eleven years.”
The Kölnische Rundschau focuses on Alario with the headline “Alario fires Bayer up the table”. And adds: “Lucas Alario remains a lifesaver for Bayer Leverkusen in this season. The ice cool Argentinian almost single-handedly turned the game round in the 4-2 win at SC Freiburg with a brace before the break and put the Werkself in the top group in the Bundesliga.” The double goalscorer at Freiburg has netted five of the last ten league goals for the Black and Reds.
“Wonder goal from Amiri, Alario bags another brace,” the Rheinische Post reports and awards the latter top marks. Five other Leverkusen players receive a two or a two minus: Lukas Hradecky, Julian Baumgartlinger, Florian Wirtz, Kerem Demirbay and Nadiem Amiri. The kicker names Alario Man of the Match.
The Bild includes Alario in their Team of the Matchday. The newspaper also quotes sporting managing director Rudi Völler. The 60-year-old: “Two goals. That’s obviously great. But Lucas also did a lot of work covering back.” On the fourth goal from Jonathan Tah: “Tah heads away the frustration of the bench. The shout of celebration was clearly to be heard at the empty stadium in Freiburg. ‘Yes, Jona’, roared Leon Bailey (23) after the headed goal from Jonathan Tah (24) to make it 4-2. The defender came on in the 64th minute to settle the result for Bayer with his header: ‘If you come on then you have to give your all.’”

A bitter end to the fifth showdown of the 2025/26 VBL Club Championship as the #B04eSports team failed to take any points in the three remaining matches of the preliminary online round of the fifth and final showdown, missing out on the offline round. They can no longer take points in the overall table. Bayer 04 slipped out on the top eight, so direct participation in the final event for the German Club Championship is no longer possible, with Bayer 04 having to contest the play-offs.
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A rematch in Athens: On Wednesday, 18 February (kick-off: 21:00 CET), the Werkself face Greek double winners Olympiacos for the second time this season at the Karaiskakis Stadium. After the encounter in the league phase, it's now time for the first leg of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League play-offs. Ahead of the game, head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about how his side will approach the clash, while captain Robert Andrich explained how the team will try to dampen the atmosphere in the stadium tomorrow.
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With the much-celebrated 2-1 derby win against 1. FC Köln, the Bayer 04 Women underlined their credentials as one of the top teams in the Bundesliga. Anyone wishing to support the Werkself in the stadium in the race for third place can now purchase tickets for the home match against FC Carl Zeiss Jena. Tickets are also still available for the upcoming clash against TSG Hoffenheim at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium on Sunday, 22 February. The latest information at a glance.
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Let's give it our all one more time! Today, Tuesday 17 February (live on the VBL Twitch channel from 18:00 CET), the #B04eSports team play the remaining three preliminary round matches of the fifth and final showdown of the VBL Club Championship 2025/26. The Leverkusen console pros go up against 1. FC Nürnberg, 1. FC Magdeburg and Bayern Munich, aiming to secure their place in the offline knockout round and pick up valuable points for the overall table and the battle to get into the final event for the German Club Championship. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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So here we go again: Four weeks after the 2-0 home win in the league phase of the UEFA Champions League, Olympiacos host the Werkself at the Stadio Georgios Karaiskakis this Wednesday, 18 February (kick-off: 21:00 CET - live on Werkself Radio) for the second encounter in a short space of time. It's the first leg of the knockout play-offs, and it's likely to be another high-intensity clash in a fiery atmosphere.
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