4–0 in Wiesbaden – Werkself through to DFB Pokal second round

In his first competitive match as Bayer 04 head coach, Carles Martínez opted for a back four – as used frequently during pre-season – ahead of goalkeeper Janis Blaswich, including the new Werkself skipper Edmond Tapsoba. Up front, Ibrahim Maza started on the right wing with Malik Tillman in the centre ahead of Ezequiel Fernández and Aleix Garcia. On the left, summer signings Miguel Gutiérrez and Afonso Moreira made their debuts for Bayer 04

goal chalked off: Schick nets opener

In front of 4,000 plus travelling supporters, who created an electric home-match atmosphere on the road, Bayer 04 quickly took the initiative, only to come up against a tightly packed Wehen defensive block. Gutiérrez broke through to provide a precise cross from the left onto the head of Patrik Schick on 14 minutes, but the Czech was offside when the ball was crossed. The Werkself enjoyed 75 per cent possession in the opening quarter of an hour. At the other end, goalkeeper Blaswich saved a header from Wiesbaden’s Justin Janitzek (19’). The next chance fell to the visitors once again, this time through Garcia (25’). After that, the action died down for a while. It looked as though the first half would end goalless – until Schick was in exactly the right place just before the half-time whistle to scored from close range to give his side a 1–0 lead (43’). That was the scoreline at half-time.

Werkself boost tally - Medina debut

The second half began just as the first had ended – with a goal for the Werkself. Gutiérrez sent in a high cross to Schick, whose header was saved by Noah Brdar. The well-positioned Lucas Vázquez had a tap-in to make it 2–0 with the Wehen keeper powerless to intervene (47'). Bayer 04 continued to dominate, and just after the hour mark, Martínez made his first substitutions. Among those coming on was Jarell Quansah for his first appearance of the 2026/27 season. Nathan Tella also came on – and, on 69 minutes, he made it 3–0 for the dominant Werkself with a left-footed shot.

As the final quarter of an hour began, new signing Facundo Medina also made his Bayer 04 debut, with the Argentine World Cup finalist slotting into central defence. His compatriot Exequiel Palacios also came on shortly afterwards, for his first appearance in the 2026/27 campaign. And the good news continued for Leverkusen: following a full-out sprint down the left by Moreira, capped off with a pinpoint pass, Christian Kofane slotted home to make it 4–0 (79’). The score remained unchanged until the final whistle.

next up: League opener at newly promoted Elversberg

The Werkself campaign continues on matchday 1 in the 2026/27 Bundesliga season with an away fixture against newly promoted SV 07 Elversberg. The match on Saturday, 29 August, kicks off at 15:30 CEST. Away tickets are sold out. Exactly one week later (Saturday 5 September, 15:30 CEST), the team will play their first home league match of the season against Union Berlin. Tickets from released allocations are available HERE.

Match stats:

Wehen Wiesbaden: Brdar – Gillekens (Lewald 74’), Fechner, Janitzek – Nink (Stehle 74’), Brandt (Karweina 66’), Gözüsirin, Greilinger (Ati Allah 84’) – Schleimer (Chaikhoun 66’), May – Flotho

Bayer 04: Blaswich – Vázquez (Quansah 64’), Badé (Medina 74’), Tapsoba, Gutiérrez – Fernández (Tella 64’), Garcia – Maza (Palacios 77’), Tillman, Moreira – Schick (Kofane 64’)

Goals: 0–1 Schick (43'), 0–2 Vázquez (47'), 0–3 Tella (69'), 0–4 Kofane (79')

Yellow cards: Greilinger, Fechner

Referee: Christian Dingert

Attendance: 12,000 at the BRITA Arena