The Kölner Stadt Anzeiger title on Thursday reads: “Kampl scores at Wembley in front of record crowd” and the paper describes the atmosphere in London: “At the already history-laden venue in the London Borough of Brent this night saw the addition of another record: The 85,512 spectators broke the previous record attendance for a club fixture in England (85,011 – set in Spurs first Champions League group match on 14 September in the 2-1 defeat to Monaco). The crowd included around 2,200 Bayer 04 fans. They all witnessed a somewhat less than high quality yet always exciting encounter.”
The Kölnische Rundschau sees “Leverkusen on course for Round of 16”: “The first win for Leverkusen in England was fully deserved after a great, energetic performance in spite of a final push by the Londoners. ‘It’s a day I’ll never forget,’ said Kampl on ZDF.” The report continues: “The English failed to break down a well-organised Bayer 04 defence at the mecca of football with the recently injured Ömer Toprak and Germany international Jonathan Tah doing a good job overall along with their fellow defenders.”
The Bild report under the headline “Wembley winner!” reads: “And how he (Kevin Kampl) enjoyed playing at the London cathedral of football! Bayer, who can still win games in the Champions League, achieved a 1-0 victory at Tottenham to register a first win since 16 September 2015 (4-1 against BATE Borisov) and now have one leg in the Round of 16. Wembley winner! Kampl scores, has fun and has to go off injured! 65 minutes: Aránguiz shoots from the edge of the box. Deflected by Davies. The ball ends up at Kampl’s feet. The Slovenian slots the ball into the net from six yards out – 1-0 to Bayer!”
The Kicker analysis is: “Exactly at the point of the game when it appeared to be turning the hosts’ way, Kampl scored the winner for Bayer 04.” The football journal concludes: “In spite of a slight advantage in chances for Tottenham, Bayer 04 earned a deserved away win thanks to a mature performance.” The man of the match for kicker is Kevin Kampl: “Extremely busy, always alert and solid on the ball: Kevin Kampl was Leverkusen’s driving force in midfield and started the move for the winning goal himself.”
The press review ends with the Rheinische Post: “One thing was certain at the end of an entertaining evening: The 1-0 win for Leverkusen in the fourth Champions League group match will go down in the annals. (…) The Leverkusen pressing put Tottenham under serious pressure and kept them on the defensive for much of the time – but they still posed a threat in quick counter attacks when the visitors pushed up. That made this match a lively encounter.
A simple approach to sport with games, fun and a highlight at the end: Bayer 04 organised a very special training session for 40 participants aged between six and 27 in cooperation with the Football Association of the Middle Rhine (FVM). At the day of action for women and girls with disabilities at the Kurtekotten Performance Centre, many of the participants gained their first experience of football.
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On Saturday, 28 March, the lights will go out again at the BayArena from 20:30 pm to 21:30. As in previous years, Bayer 04 once again take part in the WWF Earth Hour campaign under the motto "We're switching off" as the club wants to set a collective example for more climate and environmental protection together with people, cities and companies around the world.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen are bringing back Kerim Alajbegovic, who joined Red Bull Salzburg in the summer of 2025. The Bundesliga club activated the buy-back option in the contract with the Bosnia international, who has enjoyed great success at the Austrian top-flight club since the start of the current season. Alajbegovic moved to Salzburg from the Leverkusen U19s last year. The 1.86-metre forward has signed a five-year contract at Leverkusen with a start date of 1 July 2026.
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Less than a year ago, Kerim Alajbegovic moved from the Bayer 04 U19s to Austrian top-flight club FC Red Bull Salzburg. The forward’s development since then has been impressive. In 36 matches, including in the UEFA Europa League, the 18-year-old has scored 14 goals. In the summer, Alajbegovic, now a Bosnia international, will return to Leverkusen - and thus not only achieve the next milestone still early in his career, but also enrich the Werkself squad with his footballing versatility and determination.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended the contract with forward Nathan Tella ahead of schedule. The versatile 26-year-old, who can be deployed as a right winger, false nine or left winger, has penned a new contract to 30 June 2031. Tella joined the Werkself from Championship club Southampton in 2023. His previous contract ran to the summer of 2028.
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