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.”
The penultimate Bundesliga matchday of the calendar year marks the end of an eventful first half of the season for the Bayer 04 Women. After seven wins, one draw and four defeats from the first twelve games of the season, coach Roberto Pätzold's team can go above Werder Bremen in the table with a win on Friday, 12 December (kick-off: 18:30 CET).
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The third showdown in the VBL Club Championship 2025/26 kicks off for the Leverkusen eSports team this Thursday, 11 December (live on the B04eSports Twitch channel from 19:00 CET). In the online preliminary round, the Black and Red will once again take on six previously drawn opponents for a place in the Top 16 and the associated entry into the offline knockout round, which will take place at this third showdown on 19 December in Cologne. Showdown One winners Bayer 04 will face FC St. Pauli, who won the second showdown last month, among others. The lowdown on first three opponents in this online preliminary round.
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Alejandro Grimaldo, of course! With his late equaliser (88') in the Champions League clash against Newcastle United, the Spaniard rescued a point for the Werkself, who took the lead through an own goal by Newcastle's Bruno Guimaraes (13') but went with two goals for the visitors scored by Anthony Gordon (51') and Lewis Miley (74'). It was the third draw for Bayer 04 in the current 2025/26 campaign on matchday 6 in the UCL league phase.
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The Werkself will be looking to continue their run in the Champions League against Newcastle United on Wednesday, 10 December (kick-off: 21:00 CET). The two victories without conceding a goal at Benfica (1:0) and Manchester City (2-0) will hopefully be followed by a win at home at the BayArena. Against the English side, who have a player with a Black and Red past in their ranks, the way to victory could be through efficiency in attack and quick transitional play. The latter in particular has recently caused the Magpies problems away from home on the European stage. Fans can also get the stylish matchday sticker for their Sound of Dreams tour pass at the Bayer 04 Fanwelt. The matchday news.
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For the first time ever, Bayer 04 have reached the knockout phase of the UEFA Youth League. At the end of the league phase, the Leverkusen U19s secured a 2-1 home win against Newcastle United on Wednesday, 10 December. Montrell Culbreath scored before half-time and Ferdinand Pohl doubled the lead after the restart in the clash with the English side. The UCL youth competition continues at the beginning of February with the Round of 32, which will be played away from home without a second leg.
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