The Kölner Stadt Anzeiger provides a eulogy to Julian Brandt under the headline 'The Werkself on song': "The opener was the individual achievement of a great footballer. Julian Brandt won the ball 40 yards from goal and weaved his way through the Berlin defence before hitting the ball into the back of the net with the outside of his foot."
The Kölnische Rundschau succinctly sums up the Cup tie: 'Class beats passion' and reports: "The game quickly sorted itself out. Leverkusen dominated with a performance that reflected their Bundesliga quality and individual ability. Union tried to counter this class with passion and were well organised... A formidable goalkeeper helped the visitors keep a clean sheet for the time being. It took a brilliant individual move to break down the defence and beat the last man. Julian Brandt left the Berliners standing like slalom poles."
The Bild Zeitung title reads 'Thanks to Brandt: Leverkusen grow ever more impressive' and reports: "When Brandt plays then the opposition box is where the action is."
The Cologne-based Express focuses attention on next Saturday's derby against FC Köln: "Bayer get ready for Köln: Leverkusen blow Union Berlin away, clocking up nine goals in three days."
The verdict of the Rheinische Post: "Bayer 04 have reached the last sixteen of the Cup. In the 4-1 win against second division Union Berlin, the team coached by Heiko Herrlich only needed one impressive half...Bayer sporting director Rudi Völler praised the Berliners. 'They're a very, very good team. They'll go up,' said the 1990 World Cup winner."
The Berlin media also complimented Union for the courageous performance. "The warm-down 25 minutes after the final whistle saw the team enthusiastically cheered on by the travelling support. The 3,000 plus Berlin fans sang out in the almost empty stadium that Union would play in Europe one day. In the end, Union went down with flags flying," writes the Tagesspiegel.
A cracker of a semi-final at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. The Bayer 04 U19 team entertain Bayern Munich on Saturday, 10 May (kick-off: 11:00 CEST/stadium opens: 10:00 CEST). In front of a home crowd, the team led by head coach Sergi Runge, who welcomes back an attacking player, is looking to build on the battling performances from the previous knockout games and "perform at the right moment." Tickets are available from the Bayer 04 online shop and the game will also be broadcast live on Sky.
Show moreBayer 04 have now gone 33 Bundesliga away games in succession without defeat and thereby equalled the record set by Bayern Munich: Jonathan Tah netted the equaliser at 2-2 in added time away to SC Freiburg on his 400th appearance for the Werkself. SCF took a 2-0 lead with a strike from Maximilian Eggestein (44') and a Piero Hincapie own goal (48') before Florian Wirtz pulled a goal back on 82 minutes.
Show moreWerkself-TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 2-2 draw at SC Freiburg on the 32nd matchday of the Bundesliga 2024/25...
Show moreThe Werkself are away to SC Freiburg on Bundesliga Matchday 32. The penultimate away game of the season is today Sunday, 4 May with a 17:30 CEST kick-off at the Europa Park Stadion. Read on for the latest information in today's matchday news.
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