Werkself review: ‘We never lost our belief’

Once the final whistle was blown, it was time to take a deep breath. 2-0 down and a 5–2 win in the end. It was a nerve-wracking affair against FC Nürnberg in the second round of the 2026–27 DFB Pokal. Jonas Hofmann said – “We didn’t let our heads drop” – hitting the nail on the head. Indeed, it was clear the Werkself were not prepared to accept elimination from the DFB Pokal. So they went on to score. The Black and Reds made their presence felt with a goal just before half-time, followed by four more in the second half. Or, to put it another way: Edmond Tapsoba’s first Bayer 04 brace, a clinical penalty from Patrik Schick, yet another precision strike from Hofmann and a blistering volley from Lucas Vázquez. Each goal more beautiful than the last! After the match, head coach Carles Martínez praised his team’s commitment above all else and the fact that they never lost belief in themselves. The Werkself review.

Feierlichkeiten mit den Fans nach Abpfiff

Summary: A game of two completely different halves

Bayer 04 created the first chances of the match (Nathan Tella 11’), Jonas Hofmann 13'), but it was the visitors from Nuremberg who scored the opening goal: Rafael Lubach found the net with a well-placed low shot from outside the box to make it 1–0 to FC Nürnberg (14'). Things became even more frustrating when FCN launched a counter-attack against the Black and Reds and Sigurd Haugen made it 2–0 (30’). Edmond Tapsoba pulled one back to make it 2-1 just before half-time (41’). After the restart, Bayer 04 were like a different side. What followed was relentless attacking football that did not let up until the final whistle. Countless chances and four goals rained down on FCN in the second half. The Bayer 04 goals were scored by Tapsoba (49'), Patrik Schick from the penalty spot (70'), Hofmann from distance (78') and Lucas Vázquez with a powerful volley (89'). The Werkself eventually won 5–2 and deservedly progressed to the DFB Pokal Round of 16.

Reaction: “We didn’t let our heads drop”

Head coach Carles Martínez said after the final whistle: “We didn’t get off to the start we wanted. Nürnberg played brilliantly. But I’m very pleased with the second half. We didn’t lose belief in ourselves and we turned the game around. The players did a good job and showed a lot of passion. I particularly liked that!”

Trainer Carles Martínez und Co-Trainer Pol Garcia

Tapsoba, who scored a brace, said: “We started the match cautiously. But the whole team reacted well after going 2-0 down. In the second half, the fans really gave us a boost of strength and energy. That gave us a massive lift. Now we’re delighted to have reached the next round.” Reflecting on the spectacle that this Pokal night provided, he added: “What a night!” Lucas Vázquez, for his part, summed up the match as follows: “We struggled at the start, but then everything changed. In the second half, we put in a really good performance!”

Jonas Hofmann said after the final whistle: “We faced a strong opponent. Although we had chances of our own, we didn’t manage to get a foothold in the first half as we would have liked. However, Eddy’s goal just before half-time gave us the chance to get back into the game. We didn’t let our heads drop. That was important!” Commenting on the support from the Bayer 04 fans, who once again cheered his goal loudly, the 2024 double winner said: “You really feel the connection with the fans. It’s absolutely brilliant! I couldn’t stop smiling.” Commenting humorously on the fact that things are going well for the 34-year-old following his Europa League brace on Crete and his latest goal, he said: “I’ll just keep going!” (laughs) That certainly sounds like the right attitude.

Post-match reaction
Post-match press conference

What the papers say: “A brilliant performance”

kicker did not fail to notice the “clear improvement in performance after the break”. In their match report, the paper also spoke of a “brilliant performance”. Bild Zeitung credited Nürnberg for their “strong pressing” and “quick transitions”, while noting that Leverkusen were “fired up” in the second half. The Rheinische Post wrote: “A victory with two faces: Bayer 04 Leverkusen have returned to winning ways with an inconsistent performance and progressed to the Round of 16 in the DFB Pokal.” The Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger awarded individual ratings as usual. The highest marks went to Edmond Tapsoba, Jonas Hofmann and Patrik Schick.

Personnel: Tapsoba’s first brace

Even after nearly 300 matches, there is still room for firsts: With his goals to make it 2-1 and 2–2, Tapsoba – who currently has 282 Bayer 04 appearances under his belt – scored his first brace in a Black and Red jersey. With a total of five goals, there were plenty of other individual highlights too: Provider of two assists, Aleix Garcia was voted Man of the Match by the DFB, and Jonas Hofmann had the most shots (5) and helped set up the most assists (also 5). Lucas Vázquez and Patrik Schick, for their part, each scored their second DFB Pokal goal this term. Together with Tapsoba, the two experienced players top Leverkusen’s Pokal goalscoring charts. And speaking of experience: with an average age of 29 years and 43 days, this was Leverkusen’s oldest starting line-up in the competition to date.

There was also cause for celebration amongst the younger players: Montrell Culbreath, for example, was back in the matchday squad after an injury lay-off of just under three months. Kenan Doganay, from the Leverkusen U19 s, was included in the first team squad for a match for the first time.

Stats: Biggest Pokal win after going 2-0 down

The Werkself are masters of DFB Pokal comebacks. The last time they were two goals down in this competition, they still went on to win. In February 2025, they beat FC Köln 3–2. Never before, however, have the Black and Reds turned a Pokal tie around in this way: the 5–2 win against FC Nürnberg is Leverkusen’s biggest ever Pokal victory after trailing 2-0.

And here are the match stats: Bayer 04 had around 60 per cent possession, had 25 shots on the visitors’ goal (FCN: 5) and won 13 corners (FCN: 3).

Up next: At home in the Bundesliga and Europa League

The Werkself are also at home in their next two fixtures. First, Bayer 04 host VfB Stuttgart in the Bundesliga; this matchday 8 fixture is on Saturday 31 October at 15:30 CET. That is followed on Thursday 5 November (kick-off: 21:00 CET) by matchday 4 of the group stage in the UEFA Europa League, when they face Marseille. Ticket information is available HERE.