Edmond Tapsoba knows Porto better than any other player in the Leverkusen squad. The Burkina Faso international has played the north Portuguese club twice with Vitória Guimaraes and twice as a Bayer 04 player. “Porto is a great club and the atmosphere at their stadium is special,” said Tapsoba, recently voted a member of the team of the century by Guimaraes fans, at the press conference on Monday evening. “They convincingly beat Braga 4-1 a few days ago and I watched the game. They’ve got a good team and a dangerous attack. But it’s also clear we’ve come here to win.”
Tapsoba and Co. showed how to do it in the Europa League in 2019/20. A 2-1 home win against Porto was followed by a 3-1 win for Bayer 04 in Portugal.
21 Werkself players set off for Portugal on Monday afternoon and they will have the backing of 669 fans in the away section on Tuesday night. In comparison to the squad for the clash with Bayern Munich, Daley Sinkgraven (not registered for the Champions League) is missing but Ayman Azhil has travelled.
While no big changes in personnel are expected, a different approach is required compared with the display in the 4-0 defeat in Munich. “Of course, we were disappointed after the game. The team and staff have looked at their performances,” said coach Gerardo Seoane. The Swiss coach sees a Leverkusen team, “that is fully aware of this difficult situation. We all have to ensure that that we show qualities like the ability to fight and commitment on the pitch.”
Asked about being considered as the favourites in tomorrow’s game, Seoane highlighted the home game factor. And yet: “All the teams in this group can beat each other. I think it will be a very balanced and tight game.”
Asked about his own future at Leverkusen, Seoane reported: “We always have internal open discussions and communicate as clearly as possible. I’ve been in this business for a long time and the most important thing is always the results and the next game. It’s my job to coach the team and draw the right conclusions after a defeat. I’m focusing on that. I think it’s professional the way the club reassesses the situation again and again to not lose sight of the whole picture. The club has shown their confidence in me otherwise I wouldn’t be here any more. It’s understandable that journalists keep asking those questions. I can handle that.”
Bayer 04 Leverkusen will have to manage without centre-back Edmond Tapsoba in the coming weeks. The Burkina Faso international returned to the Werkself from the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco with a muscle injury.
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It was a disappointing Saturday night. The Werkself lost 4-1 to VfB Stuttgart to start the new year on Bundesliga matchday 16 in 2025/26, a result that left both players and fans disappointed. "We played without any passion," said Alejandro Grimaldo honestly afterwards. Teammate Jarell Quansah was even more self-critical, emphasising: "We were miles off it in the first half. You can't put in a performance like that, especially in front of our own fans and I can only apologise to them, to be honest." Read on for the reaction, facts and stats from the clash with VfB Stuttgart in the Werkself review.
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