Head coach Xabi Alonso made four changes to the team that started Saturday’s 2-1 win at Union Berlin in the Bundesliga. Matej Kovar was in goal in place of Lukas Hradecky, Nordi Mukiele came in for Arthur at right-back, while Exequiel Palacios and Florian Wirtz started for Aleix Garcia and Patrik Schick, who were on the bench.
Both teams worked on sizing each other up in the opening stages of this big round of 16 tie. The Werkself looked to be solid in defence, while the hosts had most of the ball in the early period. The first chance of note came for Bayer 04 in the 11th minute when Piero Hincapie forced the Bayern defence into a mistake and the ball fell for Wirtz, but he snatched his effort wide.
The big talking point of the game then came just after the quarter-hour mark when Jeremie Frimpong was upended by Neuer when chasing a long ball. Referee Harm Osmers produced a red card for the Bayern captain, giving the Werkself a man advantage in this intense encounter.
Frimpong had a great chance to put Leverkusen ahead in the first half when found by Wirtz left of goal, but he was denied by the outstretched leg of substitute goalkeeper Daniel Peretz. Bayern then started to find their feet again and grew into the game late in the period, with opportunities coming and going for Konrad Laimer, Kingsley Coman, Leon Goretzka and Minjae Kim as it remained goalless at the break.
Alonso introduced Schick for Robert Andrich for the second half. Wirtz then had the first notable chance as he dragged a Frimpong cutback wide from the edge of the box. The game was over for Schick shortly after when he went down holding his calf. He was replaced by Tella, while Arthur came on for Mukiele. Chances were few and far between after that until Tella got on the end of Alejandro Grimaldo’s cross from the left into the area and headed home from close range. The 10 men pushed for a leveller but looked bereft of ideas against the organised Werkself defence as the holders held on to advance to the quarter-finals of the DFB Pokal.
This busy spell continues for the Werkself with a home game against St. Pauli in the Bundesliga on Saturday (3.30pm CET). Bayer 04 then welcome Inter Milan to Leverkusen for the sixth game of the UEFA Champions League’s league phase on Tuesday (9pm).
Match stats:
Bayer 04: Kovar – Mukiele (Arthur 61'), Tapsoba, Tah, Hincapie – Frimpong, Xhaka, Andrich (Schick 46 (Tella 61')), Palacios, Grimaldo – Wirtz
FC Bayern: Neuer – Laimer (Boey 72'), Upamecano, Kim (Tel 84'), Davies - Kimmich, Goretzka (Pavlovic 72') - Sané (Peretz 19'), Musiala, Coman (Gnabry 72') - Olise
Goals: 0-1 Tella (68')
Yellow cards: Upamecano, Goretzka, Freund – Tapsoba, Wirtz, Parrilla, Kovar
Red card: Neuer
Referee: Harm Osmers
Attendance: 74,000 (sold out) at the Allianz Arena
A fresh look for the BayArena: The Bayer 04 stadium will have new seating in the form of folding seats for the 2026/27 campaign that will ensure significantly improved seating comfort and simplified movement within the rows of seats. As part of routine replacement after 17 years, fans of the Werkself were able to purchase the existing seats, used to witness the first German league title in the club's history. In addition, a large proportion of the seats will be donated to charitable projects, primarily in the local region. Bayer 04 fans can look forward to new, functional folding seats for the season opener at the beginning of August - still in the club colours of black and red, of course. A glimpse at the BayArena during the refurbishment.
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On Monday evening, 8 June, around 250 people came to the Bürgerhaus Baumberg at the invitation of Bayer 04 to find out details of the new plans for the campus on Alfred-Nobel-Straße at an information event. More compact, greener and with many advantages for Monheim am Rhein - those are the aims. There were lively discussions for around three hours and some misunderstandings were cleared up.
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Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and Bayer 04 loanee Francis Onyeka are part of Germany's final squad for the U19 European Championships this summer. The tournament is in Wales from 24 June to 12 July.
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When Malik Tillman arrived at Bayer 04 Leverkusen from PSV Eindhoven last summer, he did more than just add attacking midfield strength to the team — he reconnected the club with a unique and understated American lineage that stretches back more than three decades.
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Bayer 04 are away to third-division club SV Wehen Wiesbaden in the first round of the 2026/27 DFB Pokal. That was the outcome of the draw on Saturday night, 6 June, at the German Football Museum in Dortmund. The Werkself first round tie will be played between 21 and 24 August. The exact date has yet to be finalised.
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