Compared to the 3-1 Bundesliga win at Wolfsburg on Saturday, head coach Kasper Hjulmand made three changes to the line-up as Jarell Quansah, Jeanuel Belocian and Christian Kofane started in place of Jonas Hofmann, Edmond Tapsoba (suspended for yellow cards) and Robert Andrich, who was suspended after receiving a red card in the previous win in Lisbon.
Man City started strongly and had their first chance through Nathan Aké, but Mark Flekken made a strong reflex save. Five minutes later, the Werkself also had their first dangerous chance. After a nice move down the left, Ernest Poku was blocked at the last moment. Even though City had over two-thirds of possession in the early stages, Bayer 04 continued to threaten, like in the 18th minute when the lightning-fast Poku was caught by Rayan Aït-Nouri just on the edge of the penalty area. Leverkusen's next attack was successful, though. Ibrahim Maza sent the ball in from the right, a clearance attempt fell at the feet of Grimaldo, who finished on his strong left foot into the far corner to make it 1-0 with 23 minutes gone. The pressure from the Premier League giants increased again, but the black and red defence held firm. Flekken made two more outstanding saves before the break to keep the narrow lead intact.
The English side pressed more in the second half, but once again the Werkself struck with clinical precision. Maza sent the ball forward from the halfway line towards the penalty spot, where Schick broke free from his marker and cleverly nodded the ball into the far corner for 2-0, big celebration in the atmospheric away section and absolute silence in the home section of the City of Manchester Stadium. However, the game was far from over, as everyone supporting Bayer 04 knew. City picked up the pace again. Just how dissatisfied their coach Pep Guardiola was with his team's performance was evident in the fact that the Spaniard had already used up his quota of substitutions after just over an hour. After Phil Foden, Jeremy Doku and Nico O'Reilly came on at the start of the second half, Erling Haaland and Rayan Cherki also joined the fray. After 70 minutes, Haaland had his first chance, but the Norwegian striker hadn't reckoned with Flekken!
Into the final quarter of an hour, Hjulmand made his first substitution, bringing on Nathan Tella to inject some fresh legs. This match had long since become a football thriller. City attacked again and again. The Werkself defended passionately, throwing everything they had at it. Flekken made brilliant saves from a Cherki free-kick and a Poku clearance. Shortly afterwards, the final whistle blew and the black and red party on and off the pitch really began.
Next up for the Werkself is Saturday’s big Bundesliga match against Borussia Dortmund at the sold-out BayArena (18:30 CET). Just three days later, the opponent will once again be BVB, but this time away from home and in the DFB Pokal round of 16 on Tuesday, 2 December (21:00 CET).
Match stats:
Manchester City: Trafford - Khusanov (Cherki 65'), Stones, Aké, Aït-Nouri (O'Reilly 46') - Reijnders, Gonzalez, Lewis (Foden 46') - Bobb (Doku 46'), Marmoush (Haaland 65'), Savinho
Bayer 04: Flekken - Quansah, Badé, Belocian - Poku, Garcia, Maza, Grimaldo - Tillman, Kofane (Tella 82') - Schick
Goals: 0-1 Grimaldo (23'), 0-2 Schick (54')
Yellow cards: Grimaldo, Kofane
Referee: Joao Pinheiro (Portugal)
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 special edition jerseys to fan banners, the home game against Mainz 05 was all about the many Bayer 04 fan clubs. Accordingly, a fitting tribute to the long-standing Werkself supporters was not to be missed during half-time in the Bundesliga match. Fernando Carro, CEO, honoured the up to 50-year anniversaries of six fan clubs in front of the coaches' benches at the BayArena.
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It is an expression of solidarity and a tribute to the unique fan culture Under the Cross: Bayer 04 Leverkusen make a special statement with the "50 Years of Fan Clubs" jersey. To mark the founding of the "First Fan Club 1976 Leverkusen", which was followed by many more over the years right up to the present day, the Bundesliga club is commemorating 50 years of passion with this new jersey. Highs and lows, successes celebrated together as well as defeats suffered are manifested in this piece of white fabric, a symbol of unwavering identification with the Werkself.
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There’s lots going on at the BayArena today. The home game against FSV Mainz 05 is all about the numerous Bayer 04 fan clubs, whose birth - the founding of the "1. Fanclub 1976 Leverkusen" - dates back 50 years. A number of fan club representatives will be involved in awards, a banner display and a half-time matchday chat, and the Werkself are set to play in a special white fan club jersey. During half-time, Leverkusen mayor Stefan Hebbel and javelin world champion Steffi Nerius will also talk about the Olympic bid involving Leverkusen. Black and Red fans are advised to get to the stadium in good time today. Matchday news.
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The Werkself host Premier League club Arsenal in the Round of 16 first leg in the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League campaign. The match at the BayArena is on 10/11 March. Read on for information on ticket sales for this fixture.
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