Head coach Xabi Alonso made five changes to his starting line-up from the 3-1 victory at home to Borussia Mönchengladbach, naming the same team that started in the last Champions League game, the 1-0 win over Inter Milan. The Werkself took control of possession in the early stages, while Atletico waited for quick counter-attack opportunities. Exequiel Palacios registered the first attempt of the evening with a long-range shot (5'), but further goalscoring chances in the opening quarter of an hour failed to materialise.
The ball landed in the net for the first time in the 19th minute, but the effort from Nathan Tella didn't count as Alejandro Grimaldo, who supplied the assist, was stood offside. Soon after that, Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak made strong saves from Florian Wirtz (20') and Tella (22'). The Werkself were pushing and just a few minutes later, referee Davide Massa changed Pablo Barrios' card from yellow to red after reviewing his hard tackle on Nordi Mukiele, reducing the hosts to 10 men. Granit Xhaka fired off the next attempt (31'). Just as it looked like the first half would end goalless, the German double winners struck. Mukiele sent a deep cross towards the far post, where Piero Hincapie was in the right place to head in the opening goal (45'+1) and give his team a fully deserved lead at the break.
Bayer 04 began the second period with Patrik Schick on in place of Mukiele but conceded the equaliser soon after the restart. Julian Alvarez collected a long ball, fended off Jonathan Tah and then Grimaldo before finishing into the far corner (52'). Lifted by that goal, Atletico seized the iniative, helped by a number of mistakes from the Werkself in possession. It remained a frantic, physical and intense contest - but the next chances were a while coming at both ends. At the fired-up Metropolitano, the next excitement came in the 75th minute when Hincapie was shown his second yellow card for a foul on Giuliano Simeone. Like the first half, it looked for a long time like ending in a draw - but this time it was Atletico who had other ideas. Alvarez again rounded goalkeeper Matej Kovar and netted the winning goal for the Rojiblancos from a tight angle (90').
Bayer 04 are on their travels again this weekend. On Matchday 19 of the Bundesliga, the Werkself visit RB Leipzig on Saturday 25 January (kick-off 15:30 CET). That's followed by two home fixtures: against Sparta Prague in the final UCL league game (remaining tickets available here) and then TSG Hoffenheim.
Match stats:
Atletico: Oblak - Molina, Gimenez, Lenglet, Galan (Reinildo 46') - Llorente, De Paul, Barrios, Simeone (Lino 87') - Alvarez (Le Normand 90'+2 ), Griezmann (Correa 87')
Bayer 04: Kovar - Tapsoba, Tah, Hincapie - Mukiele (Schick 46'), Xhaka, Palacios, Grimaldo - Frimpong (Arthur 81'), Wirtz (Garcia 89') - Tella (Hofmann 68')
Goals: 0-1 Hincapie (45'+1), 1-1 Alvarez (52'), 2-1 Alvarez (90')
Yellow cards: Gimenez, Molina, Simeone / Wirtz, Tella
Second yellow cards: Hincapie
Red cards: Barrios
Referee: Davide Massa (Italy)
Attendance: 70,460 (sold out) at the Estadio Metropolitano
In mid-August, the Werkself will set off on a four-day trip to England to play their final two friendly matches of the 2026/27 pre-season against Premier League clubs Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United. The match in Nottingham against the Tricky Trees is on Wednesday 12 August at 20:45 CEST (19:45 BST) at the City Ground. The game against the Magpies in Newcastle is on Saturday 15 August at 16:00 CEST (15:00 BST) at the atmospheric St James’ Park. Details on ticket sales for both matches.
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Rieden reloaded: Just like last year, the Bayer 04 Women’s team are spending their summer training camp in this idyllic corner of Bavaria. From this Sunday, coach Roberto Pätzold’s team will be based in Rieden in the Upper Palatinate for a week.
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Following the summer break, most of the players are back in Leverkusen. While two Bayer 04 first-team players are still in action at the World Cup, the players present officially kicked off the new season with fitness assessments. At the Werkstatt, the Bayer 04 rehabilitation and training centre, Robert Andrich, Edmond Tapsoba and the rest of the squad worked up quite a sweat in the sweltering summer heat. New signings Afonso Moreira and Kennet Eichhorn also successfully completed the day’s sessions alongside their new team-mates.
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