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
Today brings the first match of the season for the Werkself. Bayer 04 kick off the 2026/27 campaign today, Saturday 22 August, at 13:00 CEST with a first-round DFB Pokal tie away to third-tier side SV Wehen Wiesbaden. The 3,700 travelling fans can not only look forward to what will hopefully be a successful start to the season, but also now organise their journeys to Black and Reds games even more easily via the WERKSELFgo car-share platform. Meanwhile, following two defeats at the start of the league season, SV Wehen are hoping to spring a surprise in the DFB Pokal tie. Today’s matchday news.
Show more
Carolin Simon is the new captain of the Bayer 04 women’s team. The full-back, who joined from Bayern Munich in the summer, will take over the captain’s armband for the 2026/27 season. Simon returned to Leverkusen in the summer after ten years away. The 33-year-old succeeds goalkeeper Friederike Repohl, who retired at the end of last season.
Show more
Bayer 04 start the 2026/27 season away to third-division side SV Wehen Wiesbaden. Ahead of the DFB Pokal tie on Saturday 22 August (kick-off: 13:00 CEST), head coach Carles Martínez spoke at the pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon. The topics: anticipation, passion, the fans’ support – and the captaincy for the new season.
Show more
After 62 days of preparation, the time has finally come: the Werkself kick off the new Google Pixel Women’s Bundesliga season on Sunday (16:00 CEST) with an away match at RB Leipzig. Following a major shake-up over the summer, with eleven players leaving and twelve new signings, initial impressions from the past few weeks have given manager Roberto Pätzold great cause for optimism.
Show more
SV Wehen Wiesbaden undoubtedly envisaged a different start to the new season. After two matchdays, the Hessen side currently sit bottom of the Liga 3 table. On Saturday 22 August (kick-off: 13:00 CEST), SVWW host the Werkself in the first round of the DFB Pokal at their home ground, the BRITA Arena. It was there, in this very competition a year ago, that the club almost pulled off a massive upset. The lowdown on our next opponents.
Show more
