SUMMARY ON TRACK EARLY ON
Fifteen minutes to warm up, the opener, two goals just before half-time and an entertaining exhibition display with five more goals in the second half. The Werkself were in command against the league leaders in the Regional League North. Edmond Tapsoba (16’) set Bayer 04 on course as the first goalscorer in the 2023/24 season with a close-range header, Victor Boniface (42’) and Florian Wirtz (45+1’) made it 3-0 for a comfortable lead at the break. Amine Adli (59’), Jeremie Frimpong (67’), Adam Hlozek with a brace (75’/90’) plus Jonas Hofmann (81’) netted the other goals against a brave but increasingly helpless fourth tier side. The match report is HERE.
REACTION: "IMPRESSED BY RESPECT"
The opposition coach paid a big compliment to the Werkself. "I’m impressed by the way Bayer showed us respect as a Bundesliga team. It was a great pleasure to be able to compare ourselves to Leverkusen at this level," said Ottensen's coach Dominik Glawogger. Xabi Alonso summed up the game from his perspective as follows: "The first half wasn't easy for us but we did better after that and it was okay in the end." Florian Wirtz described progress in the cup competition: "It was great fun on the pitch, we have a team with a lot of intelligent players. But we won't overvalue the result. Now the full focus is on the match against Leipzig on Saturday."
PERSONNEL: ONE TROPHT AND LOTS OF APPLAUSE
And the winner is: Florian Wirtz was named Man of the Match in the first competitive fixture of the season. The Germany international set up the second goal scored by Victor Boniface together with Alejandro Grimaldo and the Werkself number ten netted the third goal just before half-time. The performance of substitute Robert Andrich was also worthy of winning an award: Rob appeared to have made it 8-0 on 89 minutes but in response to referee Bauer he admitted handling the ball. "I didn't register that the whole stadium was applauding me for that," said Andrich and added: "It was a clear handball but if the ref didn't ask me then I wouldn't have said anything." Such honesty goes down well with supporters.
STATS: TOP NUMBER FOR THE WERKSELF
22 to 5 shots on goal in favour of Leverkusen illustrate the dominance of the Bundesliga team. Bayer 04 also had the upper hand against the league leaders from the Regional League North in terms of possession (66% to 34%), challenges (56% to 44%) and pass completion (90% compared to 78%). There is also another stat worth mentioning: The victory at the Millerntor Stadium saw Bayer 04 score away in the DFB Cup for match number 32 in succession– a record in Germany's cup competition.
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WHAT THE PAPERS SAY: "VERY SERIOUS DISPLAY"
The Rheinische Post reports the goals scored and the response: "Teutonia's fans applaud Robert Andrich". And the Bild Zeitung goes into the subject in detail and reports: "The incident of the match was a (non) goal!" The Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger said Bayer 04 produced "A very serious display that ended in an exhibition match in the end" and drew the following conclusion: "Leverkusen produced a focused and decisive performance man by man and there was a lot of power from the bench as well." The Express headline: "Bayer fired up for the league."
OUTLOOK: BIG MATCH AGAINST LEIPZIG
The opener in the DFB Cup is followed by the first test in the league: Bayer 04 start the Bundesliga campaign with a top match as the Werkself entertain RB Leipzig on Saturday 19 August with a 15.30 CEST kick-off at the BayArena. Last season's third in the table team and DFB Cup winners won the first title of the new season on Saturday night in the Supercup final with a 3-0 victory over Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena.
Day four of the Bayer 04 Brazil Tour is all about the Werkself friendly against the CR Flamengo U20 team. Before the kick-off at the Estádio da Gávea today, Friday, 18 July, at 14:30 local time (19:30 CEST), the Werkself players will warm-up at the team hotel. In addition: A communal evening event with a view of the famous landmark in Rio de Janeiro. Bayer04.de keeps you up-to-date with on the spot reports. Day four blog on the Bayer 04 Brazil Tour (timings in local time).
Show moreThe Werkself lost 5-1 against the Flamengo U20 team in the first pre-season friendly ahead of the 2025/26 season. The scorers for the Brazilian team, playing in the middle of their season, were Lorran (3’), an Arthur own goal (11’), Matheus Goncalves (40’), Pedro Leao (45+4’) and Gusttavo (55’). Head coach Erik ten Hag made several substitutions on 30 minutes and he made ten more changes on the hour mark. The Werkself were then more proactive on the pitch with the input from Granit Xhaka, Robert Andrich and Co. bringing significantly more attacking moves that led to a number of chances. Montrell Culbreath netted a consolation strike on 71 minutes for the final score of 5-1.
Show moreA first win in the preseason: In the last friendly before the start of a two-week break in training, the Bayer 04 Women beat top-flight Dutch side Ajax 1-0. In the match played over three 30-minute thirds Vanessa Fudalla scored the goal for the Werkself. In the previous two friendlies this summer, the team led by head coach Roberto Pätzold lost 2-0 two Bundesliga rivals TSG Hoffenheim and drew 1-1 with the Dutch team PEC Zwolle.
Show moreThe current Werkself player Arthur, global star Vinícius Júnior and Brazil legend Zico – they all played for the youth teams at CR Flamengo. The U20 team at the big club from Rio de Janeiro is one of the best academies in Brazil and has produced a lot of stars as well as securing national and international trophies over the past few years. Ahead of the friendly against the Werkself today, Friday 18 July (kick-off: 14:30/19:30 CEST) bayer04.de profiles the highly successful youth team.
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