
The Spanish capital was home to Xabi Alonso for five years. As a player with Real Madrid, the now 40-year-old regularly faced the city rivals. Back then as today in the dugout at Atlético Madrid: Diego Simeone. "The ways of the coach are reflected in the team, the whole club and the fans of Atlético," said Alonso about the Argentinian who has been with the Rojiblancos since 2011. "Diego Simeone is a great coach and knows how to lead his team and take the crowd with him. But we are ready for this stage tomorrow night."
While Atlético Madrid and the Werkself meet late on Wednesday evening (21.00 CEST), Club Brugge and Porto face each other at 18.45 CEST. Alonso: "It could be to our advantage if we know the other result from our group before we kick-off. That could give us more energy for our game."

Regardless of the other match and result, there is already great motivation and anticipation within the team for a successful conclusion to the clash with the Rojiblancos. Jeremie Frimpong, who also fielded questions from the German and Spanish media representatives on Tuesday evening, stressed: "All of us in the team know the importance of this match. We are ready to give 100 per cent tomorrow and do all we can to win."
Above all, avoiding mistakes in the Werkself’s own game is required to take the three points back to Leverkusen. "We saw against Porto that the smallest error can be punished immediately at this level. We can't afford that to happen tomorrow," declared Alonso who will have to manage without Kerem Demirbay, Charles Aránguiz and Sardar Azmoun in the return game against Atlético.
It remains to be seen whether Patrik Schick will be available for the Atletico game. The Czech striker was recently sidelined with a groin problem but he did travel to Madrid on Tuesday. "Patrik has another day to recover so we won't make a decision about him today," explained Alonso.

The fixture details for the Bayer 04 Women’s first match in the 2026/27 DFB Pokal has been confirmed: As announced by the German Football Association (DFB) on Thursday morning, the Leverkusen Women will face second-tier side FC Viktoria Berlin in the first round on Sunday 27 September at 14:00 CEST.
Show more
Once again, well over 100 Werkself fans were delighted to receive an invitation from the club’s record appearance-maker, Rüdiger Vollborn, to the sold-out Schwadbud at the BayArena. This time, the supporters listened as the club historian provided fascinating, exclusive insights into the period from Bayer 04 being founded in 1904 to the club’s promotion to the Bundesliga in 1979. A journey through time is also planned for the upcoming ‘Rudi lädt ein’ event in early November – this time focusing on the years of the Nazi regime.
Show more
Getting in the mood for the new season together, exchanging ideas and looking ahead to the coming months: Bayer 04 welcomed partners to the BayArena for the annual sponsors season-launch event. In a relaxed atmosphere, the management, head coach and players came together with representatives from partner companies to celebrate the start of the 2026/27 season.
Show more
Happy children’s faces at the SSV Lützenkirchen training ground: For the 25th time, the Birkenberg soccer school – organised by SportBund Leverkusen – offered participating youngsters an exciting holiday activity. Meeting a Bayer 04 player has now become a cherished tradition. This time, Ibrahim Maza visited the 150 children and spoke to them about his World Cup experiences, amongst other things. “It’s always lovely to see the children’s enthusiasm for football,” said the 20-year-old, after bringing a sparkle to many eyes with selfies and autographs.
Show more