The 49-year-old Argentinian highlighted the strengths of the Werkself: "They are a team with very good players, they play very attacking and fast football." However, those qualities were not decisive in the first meeting: Alvaro Morata came off the bench to score the only goal of the game on 78 minutes for the Spanish side with a header.
The 27-year-old could well be in the starting line-up with his four goals in the last four games as could central defender Mario Hermoso, who said at the press conference: "We want to play and we’ll treat the match as if it's a final." And moving the pre-match training session from the BayArena to the Ulrich Haberland Stadium, due to it being the fourth home match in twelve days, was not a negative factor for the Madrid side. "We've heard we won't be able to train in the stadium tonight. But that doesn't bother us. Our mentality is good," said the 24-year-old summer signing Hermoso, who played for Espanyol last season.
Simeone looked at an aspect of the game that has occupied the Werkself for several matches: conversion of chances. "I can explain one situation after another to you as reasons why we haven't scored. But what we are really missing is clinical finishing," declared the Argentinian.
A simple approach to sport with games, fun and a highlight at the end: Bayer 04 organised a very special training session for 40 participants aged between six and 27 in cooperation with the Football Association of the Middle Rhine (FVM). At the day of action for women and girls with disabilities at the Kurtekotten Performance Centre, many of the participants gained their first experience of football.
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On Saturday, 28 March, the lights will go out again at the BayArena from 20:30 pm to 21:30. As in previous years, Bayer 04 once again take part in the WWF Earth Hour campaign under the motto "We're switching off" as the club wants to set a collective example for more climate and environmental protection together with people, cities and companies around the world.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen are bringing back Kerim Alajbegovic, who joined Red Bull Salzburg in the summer of 2025. The Bundesliga club activated the buy-back option in the contract with the Bosnia international, who has enjoyed great success at the Austrian top-flight club since the start of the current season. Alajbegovic moved to Salzburg from the Leverkusen U19s last year. The 1.86-metre forward has signed a five-year contract at Leverkusen with a start date of 1 July 2026.
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Less than a year ago, Kerim Alajbegovic moved from the Bayer 04 U19s to Austrian top-flight club FC Red Bull Salzburg. The forward’s development since then has been impressive. In 36 matches, including in the UEFA Europa League, the 18-year-old has scored 14 goals. In the summer, Alajbegovic, now a Bosnia international, will return to Leverkusen - and thus not only achieve the next milestone still early in his career, but also enrich the Werkself squad with his footballing versatility and determination.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended the contract with forward Nathan Tella ahead of schedule. The versatile 26-year-old, who can be deployed as a right winger, false nine or left winger, has penned a new contract to 30 June 2031. Tella joined the Werkself from Championship club Southampton in 2023. His previous contract ran to the summer of 2028.
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