All became clear just before taking off from Moscow on the previous matchday: AS Monaco’s win against Tottenham ensured Bayer 04 qualified for the last sixteen.
Chicharito and Co. can now approach the final group game of the year in the Champions League without any pressure (20.45 CET, BayArena). “I’m looking forward to the game,” said the Leverkusen head coach Roger Schmidt. His team will be keen to give one hundred per cent again at the BayArena and provide the fans with a win to round off the group stage. Tickets are still available so come on down.
Remain unbeaten
Although second spot is secure and first place unachievable, even with a win, the match against the French side provides the Werkself with a top-level encounter and the chance to finish the group stage unbeaten. That would be a first for Bayer 04 in eleven Champions League campaigns to date.
Monaco are also unbeaten ahead of matchday six. And the team coached by Leonardo Jardim clocked up a confidence-boosting 5-0 win against SCBastia at the weekend. The captain and super star Radamel Falcao, who missed the home game against Bayer 04 due to injury, scored twice and newly capped French wonder boy Thomas Lemar scored with an excellent lob. With the retired formula one driver Felipe Massa looking on, the 17-year-old Kylian Mbappé, often compared to a young Thierry Henry, plus substitute Guido Carrillo netted the other two. AS Monaco are currently second in Ligue 1 with an incredible 49 goals scored, just three points behind league leaders OGC Nice and a point ahead of PSG.
Youth League: U19 need to win
Anyone looking for excitement will find it in the Youth League on Wednesday. The Leverkusen U19 team faces a make or break meeting with AS Monaco in the final group match. The team coached by Markus von Ahlen and Iraklis Metaxas have to turn round a 2-1 defeat in the away game in the Principality to finish second and secure progress to the next round. The match at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium kicks off at 14.00 CET, and entrance is free. The game will be broadcast live on www.sport1.de.
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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