Head coach Xabi Alonso made two changes to his starting line-up from the 0-0 draw against VfB Stuttgart: Exequiel Palacios and Aleix Garcia replaced the injured Nordi Mukiele and Robert Andrich (bench). After the famous Liverpool anthem "You'll Never Walk Alone", Dutch referee Danny Makkelie got the match under way and the first shot came from the boot of Victor Boniface after just two minutes. Cody Gakpo's more threatening effort for the home side was blocked (7'). Lukas Hradecky then saved comfortably from Curtis Jones' attempt (15'). Five minutes later, Virgil van Dijk just managed to get to the ball before Jeremie Frimpong, who would've been in a very promising position.
Not much happened in front of the goals for a while after that. Trent Alexander-Arnold's free kick from close range was deflected behind by the Leverkusen wall (36'). At the other end, Alejandro Grimaldo fired over the bar from long range (37'). Just before half-time, Frimpong did actually put the ball in the LFC net but the Dutch international had touched the ball with his hand when controlling it. Gakpo was again denied by Hradecky in stoppage time, meaning the first half ended goalless.
Liverpool midfielder Jones had the first opportunity after the restart (55'), before Mohamed Salah fired wide in space three minutes later. The next LFC attack ended in a goal, though. Jones played a perfect through ball into the path of Luis Diaz, who chipped the ball over Hradecky and into the net to make it 1-0 (61'). Immediately after that, Gakpo doubled the lead with a header. Hradecky had to make a strong save to stop Alexander-Arnold making it three (73'). After a quieter spell, Diaz did extend the lead to 3-0 from close range (83'). Leverkusen did have chances through Florian Wirtz (85') and substitute Andrich (87'), but Diaz wrapped up a 4-0 win and his hat-trick in the second minute of added time.
A busy period ends with the Bundesliga away match at VfL Bochum on Saturday 9 November at 15:30 CET. That's followed by the final international break of 2024, before three more consecutive weeks of midweek matches.
Match stats:
Liverpool: Kelleher - Alexander-Arnold (Bradley 80'), Konate (Quansah 78'), Van Dijk, Tsimikas (Robertson 80') - Jones (Szoboszlai 73'), Gravenberch, Mac Allister - Salah, Luis Diaz, Gapko (Nunez 80')
Bayer 04: Hradecky - Tapsoba, Tah, Hincapie - Frimpong, Palacios (Andrich 73'), Xhaka, Grimaldo (Tella 80') - Wirtz, Garcia (Hofmann 73') - Boniface (Schick 80')
Goals: 1-0 Luis Diaz (61'), 2-0 Gakpo (63'), 3-0 Luis Diaz (83'), 4-0 Luis Diaz (90'+2)
Yellow cards: Garcia, Hradecky
Referee: Danny Makkelie (Netherlands)
Attendance: 61,276 (sellout) at Anfield
Bayer 04 host 1. FC Köln at the BayArena in the final home game of 2025 . Today’s match on Saturday, 13 December kicks off at 18:30.30 pm. The Werkself are looking for three points against 1. FC Köln, who are without a win in four games but they do have a shooting star in their ranks up front. The Bayer 04 Volunteering Award will be presented at the derby against the club from Cologne and another fan club will be honoured for many years of loyalty under the Cross. The matchday news.
Show more
The German Football Association (DFB) has officially recognised Bayer 04 as a women’s talent support centre. As announced by the DFB, 1 FC Köln, Union Berlin, RB Leipzig and Hamburger SV are also certified as performance or talent support centres from 1 January 2026 in addition to the Werkself.
Show more
Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 0-1 loss at Werder Bremen on the 13th matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2025/26.
Show more
Bayer 04 Women suffered a setback at the halfway point of the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga. In a battle of the chasing pack between the teams in third and fourth, coach Roberto Pätzold's side lost 1-0 at SV Werder Bremen in a physical contest. The result leaves the Werkself on 22 points after 13 matchdays and now four points behind Bremen.
Show more
The Bayer 04 U19s will face Villarreal CF in Spain in the 2025/26 UEFA Youth League round of 16. That was the result of the draw made at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland on Friday afternoon.
Show more
