Xabi Alonso made five changes to his team from the weekend’s 2-2 draw away at RB Leipzig, including Matej Kovar replacing Lukas Hradecky in goal again. Leverkusen pushed for a win from the start against the Czech champions, who are still on their domestic winter break and already out of contention in the Champions League. Granit Xhaka had the first attempt inside three minutes, while Jonathan Tah saw an effort cleared off the line and Patrik Schick put a header narrowly wide. All the action was taking place in the Sparta half, but the Werkself just couldn’t find a way through at first.
Referee Georgi Kabakov then pointed to the spot after half an hour but reversed his decision to award Leverkusen a penalty for handball by Jaroslav Zeleny. Bayer 04 quickly put that behind them, though, and forged ahead when Jeremie Frimpong teed up Wirtz to finish into the bottom left corner. As things stood, the Bundesliga champions were up to sixth in the table.
The first chance after the break fell to probably Prague’s best player in Victor Olatunji, but the Werkself then retook control of proceedings and got a second just after the hour mark. Alejandro Grimaldo’s free-kick was too hot to handle for Sparta goalkeeper Peter Vindahl, presenting Tella the opportunity to tuck away the rebound. It gave the Werkself a cushion in sixth place, which is where they ended up finishing thanks to their superior goal difference over Lille and Aston Villa on the back of a deserved 2-0 win.
By finishing in the top eight, Leverkusen avoid a play-off and go straight into the round of 16. The format from that stage continues as in previous years, with two legs (4/5 and 11/12 March), with the return fixture set to be played at the BayArena. The Werkself will discover their opponents following the play-offs when the draw for the last 16 is made on Friday, 21 February.
Bayer 04’s next two competitive fixtures are also in Leverkusen. First it’s Hoffenheim who come to town in the Bundesliga on Sunday (5.30pm CET) before the DFB Pokal quarter-final against Köln on Wednesday, 5 February (8.45pm).
Match stats:
Bayer 04: Kovar - Mukiele, Tah, Tapsoba - Frimpong (Arthur 88'), Palacios (Garcia 83'), Xhaka, Grimaldo - Wirtz (Hofmann 90'), Tella (Andrich 83') - Schick (Stepanov 90')
Sparta Prague: Vindahl - Vitik, Sevinsky, Sörensen - Wiesner (Suchomel 85'), Sadilek, Kairinen, Zeleny (Krasniqi 90'+3) - Laci (Danek 85') - Olatunji (Haraslin 67'), Birmancevic (Penxa 90'+3)
Goals: 1-0 Wirtz (32'), 2'0 Tella (64')
Yellow cards: Xhaka, Andrich - Birmancevic, Olatunji
Referee: Georgi Kabakov (Bulgaria)
Attendance: 30,210 (sold out) at the BayArena
This special event showed once again how strong Bayer 04 are as a team: As part of ‘BarmeniaGothaer gives joy’, the Werkself players Edmond Tapsoba, Ibrahim Maza and Christian Kofane supported the sale of individually designed T-shirts for a good cause at the Fanwelt on Thursday. Several hundred fans came to take part in the charity campaign. Leverkusen's main sponsor BarmeniaGothaer donated the proceeds to the Fondation Edmond Tapsoba, which helps people in Tapsoba's home country of Burkina Faso in their challenging everyday lives.
Show more
With three games to play before the end of the season, the Bayer 04 Women can break one record and equal another at SGS Essen. After three wins on the bounce, coach Roberto Pätzold's team are aiming to maintain the chance of third place in Sunday’s away game (14:00 CEST, Stadion an der Hafenstraße).
Show more
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 more
From Ouagadougou to Leverkusen – and back: in March, Bayer 04 travelled with Edmond Tapsoba for a special project in his homeland Burkina Faso. The country where his roots and heart lie. The country where he’s more than a world-class defender: a symbol of hope and a role model for an entire generation. The result is a 45-minute documentary about Tapsoba’s long journey from Africa via Portugal to Leverkusen, which offers extraordinary, one-off and emotional insights.
Show more
Edmond Tapsoba has signed an early extension to his contract with Bayer 04 Leverkusen. With two years left on his current deal, the 27-year-old Burkina Faso international has extended his contract until 30 June 2031. The centre-back joined as a young talent from Portuguese top-flight club Vitoria Guimaraes at the start of 2020.
Show more
