Head coach Kasper Hjulmand made three changes to his starting XI compared to the 2-1 loss at home to Borussia Dortmund three days earlier: Jarell Quansah, Martin Terrier and Christian Kofane replaced Loïc Badé, Malik Tillman and Patrik Schick. BVB made four changes from the previous clash in Leverkusen.
After a hectic ten minutes with a number of poor passes on both sides, both BVB and Bayer 04 started to pop up more frequently in dangerous areas. However, the first attempts were all successfully blocked. Edmond Tapsoba (17') and Ibrahim Maza (20') both got forward but shot wide, while at the other end Jonas Hofmann saved with his head from the onrushing Daniel Svensson (25'). Then, nine minutes later, Mark Flekken started a move which ended in the opposition penalty area and led to the opening goal! Álex Grimaldo played Maza in deep and, somehow, in a scramble against three Dortmund players, he managed to hold onto the ball and then calmly slotted it into the far corner to make it 1-0 (34'). BVB now turned up the heat again, with Robert Andrich making a last-gasp impressive block from a Karim Adeyemi shot (40'). As a result, Leverkusen went into the break with a narrow lead.
The second half had already been underway for a quarter of an hour when the Werkself doubled their lead during a period of pressure from Dortmund. However, Terrier's goal, his first in a competitive match this season, was chalked off for offside in the 60th minute. Shortly afterwards, Schick and Tillman replaced Kofane and Terrier, providing some fresh attacking impetus for Leverkusen. Schick had his first sight of goal with a header in the 73rd minute, which BVB keeper Gregor Kobel saved. At the other end, Nico Schlotterbeck went just wide with a long-range effort (77'). The final phase, including six minutes of stoppage time, was as combative and emotional as expected. Adeyemi headed into the side netting (90'+5), then the final whistle sounded at Signal Iduna Park! Bayer 04 were in the quarter-finals!
There's no let-up in the Werkself's exciting run-up to Christmas. The next challenge comes on Saturday, 6 December (kick-off: 15:30 CET) at FC Augsburg. This will be followed by the final Champions League clash of the year against Newcastle United. Kick-off is at 21:00 CET on Wednesday, 10 December at the BayArena. The two final opponents in 2025 will be 1. FC Köln - in Leverkusen - and RB Leipzig away from home. Click HERE for an overview of the current status of ticket sales.
Match stats:
Dortmund: Kobel - Anton, Can, Schlotterbeck - Ryerson (67' Beier), Bellingham, Nmecha (74' Groß), Svensson (86' Bensebaini) - Adeyemi, Chukwuemeka (67' Brandt) - Silva (67' Guirassy)
Bayer 04: Flekken - Quansah, Andrich, Tapsoba - Hofmann (90'+2 Badé), Maza, Garcia, Grimaldo - Terrier (61' Tillman), Poku (83' Tella) - Kofane (61' Schick)
Goal: 0-1 Maza (34')
Yellow cards: Anton, Bellingham, Can - Andrich, Tillman
Refree: Tobias Stieler (Sölden im Schwarzwald)
Attendance: 81,365 (sold out) at Signal Iduna Park
Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 4-0 win at SGS Essen on the 24th matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2025/26.
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In the previous game against RB Leipzig in December last year, the Werkself turned came from behind to win 3-1 and further improved Leverkusen's already strong record against the Red Bulls. Montrell Culbreath stood out with his first goal on his debut for the Black and Reds. While the 18-year-old would certainly like to score a second goal against Leipzig on Saturday night, the attack-minded visitors come to the BayArena in confident mood after five Bundesliga victories in a row. The Nordkurve12 supporters group knows the Werkself will therefore once again be reliant on the vociferous support of the fans, and has once again called for the ‘Finally Red’ campaign in the run-in. Today’s matchday news.
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Video games manufacturer Electronic Arts (EA), together with the German Football League (DFL), announced the top male and female selections for the 2025/26 Bundesliga season this week. Bayer 04 striker Vanessa Fudalla is in the starting eleven of the women's "Team of the Season". Alejandro Grimaldo and Aleix Garcia have been selected as bench players in the men's team.
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After matchday 31 and the 2-1 derby win in Cologne, one thing is certain: Bayer 04 will at least compete in the UEFA Europa League in the coming 2026/27 campaign. But the Werkself want more. Looking at the race for Champions League qualification and the remaining three league fixtures, including against direct rivals, bayer04.de outlines the possible scenarios in the season run-in.
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This special event showed once again how strong Bayer 04 are as a team: As part of ‘BarmeniaGothaer gives joy’, the Werkself players Edmond Tapsoba, Ibrahim Maza and Christian Kofane supported the sale of individually designed T-shirts for a good cause at the Fanwelt on Thursday. Several hundred fans came to take part in the charity campaign. Leverkusen's main sponsor BarmeniaGothaer donated the proceeds to the Fondation Edmond Tapsoba, which helps people in Tapsoba's home country of Burkina Faso in their challenging everyday lives.
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