The Werkself were initially focused at the start of the game and primarily impressed with good periods of possession and seamless moves. After impressive work in the build-up by Moussa Diaby and Robert Andrich, Callum Hudson-Odoi appeared to have broken the deadlock but it was chalked off due to a foul by Andrich earlier in the move. With five minutes to play before half-time, there was a hectic course of events: After another disallowed goal, this time for Porto's Mehdi Taremi, and a missed penalty from Patrik Schick, the two sides went into the break with the score at 0-0. After the restart, it was primarily the Portuguese champions who were on the front foot and they were rewarded with goals from substitutes Zaidu (69') at 1-0 and Galeno (87') at 2-0. HERE is the match report.
After the game, Gerardo Seoane summed up the performance of his team in the first half as "very complete." There was great effort and that led to the creation of qualitatively good situations. The 43-year-old coach did however admit: "But then we missed the opportunity to turn effort into goals."
Jonathan Tah also named efficiency as the crucial factor speaking to Werkself TV: "We started really well and produced an impressive performance and energy for long stretches. We should have got our reward," said the defender before adding: "I didn't feel in the second half that the team had less desire. But if you go all out the whole time and don't get a reward then it gets crazy in the end." But the aim is to take the energy from the first half into the forthcoming games: "There's still everything to play for in the Champions League. And if we succeed in landing a punch up front that I think we’ll be able to win our next league game at home to Schalke 04."
Jonathan Tah and Co. met up with a very familiar face in the match against Porto: Wendell moved on to Portugal from Bayer 04 in the summer of last year. The full-back joined the Werkself from the Brazilian club Grêmio Porto Alegre in the 2014/2015 season and he went on to play 250 games for the Black and Reds. The 29-year-old defender started for the opposition last night and he played for 63 minutes.
The numbers from the game: Porto with eleven shots on goal had two more than the Werkself (9). The Seoane team did have their noses in front in terms of possession with 57%. The same applied to pass completion: 84% of all passes found their target for the Werkself and the Portuguese had a return of 75%. The two teams were neck and neck in the number of challenges at 50% each.
The Süddeutsche Zeitung headline reads "crazy game." The EXPRESS describes the Leverkusen performance as "tough, committed – but beaten once again." The Leverkusener Anzeiger sums up the best chance in the first half as follows: After a polite opening quarter of an hour with the focus on avoiding mistakes, the Bayer support suddenly grew loud under the spectacular roof structure at the Estádio do Dragão. An impressive move by Moussa Diaby and Robert Andrich's precise cross to the far post ended with Callum Hudson-Odoi firing the ball under the bar." The second half was described as follows: "Porto shook off their reticence in the second half, attacked the Leverkusen defenders significantly earlier and provoked mistakes."
The Werkself head home from Porto today and there will be another training session in Leverkusen this afternoon. There will be training sessions over the next two days before Schalke 04 visit the BayArena on Bundesliga matchday nine on Saturday 8 October (kick-off: 15.30 CEST). The newly promoted team lost 3-2 against FC Augsburg last weekend. The Black and Reds play Porto next Wednesday 12 October (kick-off: 21.00 CEST) at home in the return match in the UEFA Champions League.
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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Kasper Hjulmand has led the Werkself back to winning ways and is back in the knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League with Bayer 04 after the 3-0 win against Villarreal on Wednesday evening. In an interview with the Werkself magazine at the BayArena in the team meeting room, directly opposite the dressing room, he provided some special insights for the current issue, which was published in January. A conversation with the 53-year-old coach about values, attitudes and personal experiences as well as interests outside of football.
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The thrilling 3-1 win for Bayer 04 against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Hinrunde is a fond memory for Alejandro Grimaldo, with his brace from free kicks, and coach Kasper Hjulmand, who was in the dugout under the Cross for the first time. Now comes the return fixture in the metropolis on the River Main and after going out of the DFB Pokal and the Champions League, the full focus at Eintracht, currently managed by two interim coaches, is now on the Bundesliga. For their part, the Werkself will do everything in their power to continue the longest winning run against a Bundesliga club. The matchday news.
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Bayer 04 have ended Artem Stepanov’s loan deal at Nürnberg and agreed a new loan to Utrecht in the Netherlands. The Ukrainian striker did not play as much as hoped for at the Bundesliga 2 club and will now continue his development in the Eredivisie for the rest of 2025/26.
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The draw for the knockout play-offs of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League was made on Friday, 30 January and saw Bayer 04 paired with Olympiacos. It’s a reunion with the Greek side following the Werkself’s 2-0 loss in Athens on Matchday 7 of the league phase.
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