Everything was set up for a great afternoon of football at the Allianz Arena: The Bayern fans produced an impressive display to mark the 125th anniversary of the club. The new stadium anthem rang out for the first time and the team wore special anniversary shirts. And then the game against VfL Bochum initially went to plan. The hosts led 2-0 after 28 minutes with a brace from Raphael Guerreiro but then Serge Gnabry missed a penalty. Before half-time, Jakov Medic pulled a goal back for Bochum and FCB's Joao Palhinha was shown a red card. VfL turned the game round against the ten men of Bayern with goals from Ibrahima Sissoko and Matus Bero thereby spoiling the last match before the return game against Bayer 04 in the Champions League Round of 16.
"We're not looking for excuses or apologies, we lost. We will analyse it and we have to take responsibility," said Bayern coach Vincent Kompany after the second Bundesliga defeat of the season. Sporting managing director Max Eberl said: "We definitely wanted to win the game and do our preparations. Of course, you should always avoid getting a red card but if a red card is shown you should run a bit more to make up for the missing man – those are the two lessons from today." The unexpected defeat had almost no effect on the table because the Werkself also lost (0-2) in the home game against Werder Bremen and thereby remain in second place eight points behind the record champions.
FC Bayern coach Kompany almost completely changed his team for the game against Bochum compared with the line-up for the Champions League Round of 16 first leg against Bayer 04. Only Leon Goretzka remained from the starting XI against the Werkself a few days before. The second leg is now the perfect opportunity to show a reaction after defeat against VfL Bochum, said Harry Kane before adding: "Every time we've lost this season we've gone into the next game full of passion and determination. We will need that on Tuesday."
To date, FC Bayern have never given away a three-goal advantage from the first leg game in European competitions. If they go through this time, FCB would be in the quarter-finals of the European Cup/Champions League for the 35th time. Only Real Madrid have done it more often (39 times). And another statistic favours the team from Munich: The record champions have qualified for the next round in the Champions League after winning in the first leg of the last 14 knockout ties. At the same time, Bayern Munich have lost two away games in a UCL season by three goals for the first time in the club's history (1-4 at Barcelona in October 2024 and 0-3 at Feyenoord in January 2025).
Harry Kane, who netted a brace in the 3-0 win in the first leg, has scored nine times in 10 Champions League games this term, more than ever before in a season. If he scores at least one goal in Leverkusen then he will be the first English player to score 10 goals in a Champions League campaign. Kane opened the scoring with a header on nine minutes in Munich. Jeremie Frimpong missed the best chance for Leverkusen when he was through one-on-one with Manuel Neuer. Jamal Musiala doubled the lead in the second half due to a mistake by Bayer 04 keeper Matej Kovar (54'). And after Nordi Mukiele was shown a second yellow card on 62 minutes for a foul and Kingsley Coman, FCB made the most of their extra player and went 3-0 up with a penalty scored by Kane. Joao Palhinha hit the bar in added time after impressive work by Musiala.
Despite the good position, FC Bayern will be fully focused going into the second leg at the BayArena. "It's not in Bayern's DNA to just try and sit on the lead," said Max Eberl. "We have to play our game. It will be full of atmosphere and emotion and we have to be prepared for that."
Coach Vincent Kompany will again rotate his squad for the match in Leverkusen. Captain Manuel Neuer misses the game due to a muscle injury picked up in the first leg. He should be replaced in goal again by Jonas Urbig. Also still sidelined are central defender Tarek Buchmann (shoulder injury) and midfielder Aleksandar Pavlovic, who misses out due to an ongoing infection. Kompany therefore has almost a full squad to choose from 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.
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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…
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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.
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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.
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