With three changes to the starting XI and returnees Exequiel Palacios and Victor Boniface on the bench, Bayer 04 immediately imposed their dominant style of play on their visitors from Düsseldorf. Jeremie Frimpong converted that superiority into an early lead after just eight minutes. The Bundesliga leaders maintained their concentration after that, in their defensive work too. An example of this was when Florian Wirtz launched a counter-attack after winning the ball in his own penalty area before supplying Amine Adli, who buried the second goal into the far corner after 20 minutes. Wirtz himself then made it 3-0 in the 36th minute with a fine finish. After around an hour, the VAR spotted a handball in the box by Düsseldorf's Matthias Zimmermann and Wirtz confidently tucked away the subsequent penalty. The Werkself comfortably saw out the rest of the game and deservedly progressed to the final. The full match report
After the game, head coach Xabi Alonso spoke of a "very serious performance", adding: "Obviously the first goal was important, it gave us a lot of control. We didn't want a typical frantic cup match." On Wirtz, the Spaniard commented: "He put in a superb performance. We're seeing a very mature Flo in every match, who's there in the important moments and taking responsibility. He really is a top, top player."
Brace scorer Wirtz himself said afterwards: "It's a very good scoreline, but the most important thing is that we've qualified for the final. We're very glad that we can make the people here happy." Jonathan Tah, who led the side as captain in the semi-final, added: "We respected the opposition, not underestimated." And Granit Xhaka declared: "This team only knows 100 percent."
The Bild went with the headline "FINALonso! Leverkusen sweep aside Düsseldorf too and remain unbeaten in 40 games". kicker wrote: "The machine rolls on", adding: "Düsseldorf daring, Leverkusen clinical: Leverkusen completely dominated the game from the start, and short bursts of tempo were enough to put Fortuna in dire straits." The magazine also gave Wirtz the highest rating, as did the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger, which awarded the Germany international a 1 - as it did Adli. The Süddeutsche Zeitung, meanwhile, chose the following headline and introduction: "The demon machine: Nimble-footed, with fluid short passing and clearly defined distances, Bayer 04 Leverkusen also dispatch Fortuna Düsseldorf 4-0 - Xabi Alonso reaches his first final as a first-team coach." The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung took a similar view and wrote about "light-footed Leverkusen".
Adli's strike against Fortuna means he's now the top scorer in this season's DFB Cup and also has the most goal contributions, with five goals and three assists. Equally pleasing was the return of Victor Boniface after 106 days out injured. The striker was sidelined by an adductor muscle tendon injury in recent months, but has been back training with the team recently and came on for Patrik Schick in the 65th minute against Düsseldorf.
Off the pitch, the fans delivered great support once more. Starting with an impressive tifo which stretched across the whole stadium, the Werkself supporters again loudly cheered on the Werkself over the whole match and made it an unforgettable cup night.
The stats also underline the Werkself's dominance, with a pass completion rate of 93% (Düsseldorf 82%) and possession of 72%. Leverkusen also won 62% of the duels and fired off 22 shots on goal (Düsseldorf eight).
Incidentally, for Wirtz it was his first brace for the club in his 141st appearance and his first converted penalty in a competitive game.
The fixtures keep coming thick and fast for the Werkself, who visit 1. FC Union Berlin on Matchday 28 of the Bundesliga on Saturday 6 April (kick-off 15:30 CEST). That's followed by the UEFA Europa League quarter-final first leg at home to West Ham United next week. Kick-off is at 21:00 CEST on Thursday 11 April.
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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Bayer 04 put in a brilliant performance to beat RB Leipzig 4-1 on Bundesliga matchday 32 and are now fourth in a Champions League spot. The Black and Reds took control of the game right from the start and, with 75 per cent possession at one stage, took a 2-0 lead into the break through Patrik Schick (25’) and Nathan Tella (45+1’). The visitors initially tried to do more after the break, but the Werkself remained determined and Schick scored his second goal to increase the lead to 3-0 (76'). The Red Bulls pulled a goal back through Christoph Baumgartner (80'), but the disciplined Leverkusen side were not rattled - and certainly not Schick: The Czechia international crowned a brilliant display with his third goal shortly before the final whistle to make the final score 4-1.
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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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