
"The Cup dream of Bayer 04 Leverkusen sank without trace in the mud of Essen," declares the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger at the start of their match report. "The Bundesliga side with big Champions League ambitions and dreams of the title had to accept a 2-1 defeat in extra time against fourth division Rot-Weiss Essen in the DFB Cup Round of 16."
"A football miracle that really hurts Leverkusen," says BILD – and adds: "It should never have gone into extra time. It’s hard to believe it was 0-0 after 90 minutes."
This is unravelled in the Rheinische Post, which presents the following analysis taking account of Leverkusen's 3-5-2 system: "The attacking approach was evident: In the first half-hour alone, the Werkself produced a handful of good chances. But Bayer did not find the back of the net."
"Leverkusen obviously had more and better chances," reports the Süddeutsche Zeitung. "Patrik Schick put a header against the post (24'), Charles Aránguiz tested Davari (29') and Moussa Diaby shot just wide in added time in the first half."
The WAZ also highlights the outstanding goalkeeper for the Red and Whites on the night. "Davari continually surpassed himself over the course of the game," praises the newspaper. "He parried Edmond Tapsoba's header (51') and Bailey's low shot (60'). The game was a case of: Davari against Leverkusen. The Regional League side were unable to break free."
In the view of the Frankfurter Rundschau, the Regional League side had "immense luck just before the end of the 90 minutes," when Bayer 04 hit the post twice in one move. "Then came extra time that saw Essen sensationally continue their fairy tale success."
"Bayer appeared to be on course after Bailey's goal," reports the EXPRESS, "But Essen showed incredible morale" – and also survived the final VAR intervention after the winner. "There were heated discussions because Essen's Felix Herzenbruch pulled Jeremie Frimpong's shirt inside his own penalty area. Referee Daniel Schlager (31) looked at the incident on the monitor – and awarded the goal."

The Werkself kicked off the final international break of the current season on Monday morning with the first of three open training sessions this week. While eleven Bayer 04 players will be away on international duty in the coming days, the other players will be working together in Leverkusen. The next challenge in the Bundesliga awaits on Saturday, 4 April (kick-off: 15:30 CEST) with the home game against VfL Wolfsburg.
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Due to maintenance work, the online shop and other digital services from Bayer 04 Leverkusen will be temporarily restricted or unavailable from Monday, 23 March (18:00 CET) to Thursday, 26 March. Bayer 04 will provide immediate updates via the club's official channels if the work is completed earlier than planned. The overview.
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Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 1-0 win against FC Carl Zeiss Jena on the 21th matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2025/26.
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Thanks to a masterstroke from Katharina Piljic, the Werkself secured their eleventh win of the season in the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga. On Sunday evening, coach Roberto Pätzold's team beat FC Carl Zeiss Jena 1-0. Midfielder Piljic scored the winning goal with a volley into the corner from the edge of the box (19’) in front of 633 spectators at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium - and ensured that Leverkusen moved up to fifth place in the table for at least one night with 34 points.
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Bayer 04 will have to make do without forward Martin Terrier in the next few weeks. The Frenchman sustained a muscle injury in his right hamstring in Saturday's 3-3 draw at Heidenheim in the Bundesliga.
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