The Bild Zeitung again uses a play on words with the Werkself coach in its headline: "Gladbach sink HERRLICH (brilliantly)“ and the article continues: "What was that? Gladbach are knocked out of the DFB Cup, humiliated and punished at home. In the fifth game against Gladbach since October 2017, Leverkusen win 5-0 to go through to the Round of 16. ...Leverkusen decision maker Rudi Völler (58): 'We've scored eleven goals in three days against two teams who have had impressive starts to the season. A lot is going right at the moment that wasn't before.' Bayer's BALLERabi has scored six goals in the last four games. He, along with coach Herrlich, are probably THE comeback kings of the season."
The Hannoversche Allgemeine saw "the next Bayer show" at Borussia Park. Their report reads: "Bayer Leverkusen have impressively continued their upturn and again reached the DFB Cup Round of 16 as they did last season. After the splendid 6-2 win at Werder Bremen, the Werkself also won the second game in succession and overcame Borussia Mönchengladbach with a 5-0 victory thanks to perfect counter-attacking football."
The Kölner Stadt Anzeiger provided a state of the nation report on Bayer 04 after the 90 minutes at Mönchengladbach: "Euphoria replaces crisis." The small contingent of Bayer 04 Leverkusen fans chanted: 'Let's have another, let's have another.' And the Werkself duly obliged for the fans, several times. With a 5-0 winning margin and another exiting display of counter-attacking football, Bayer 04 crushed Borussia Mönchengladbach in the second round of the DFB Cup to progress to the Round of 16. Leverkusen played like the season only started with the 6-2 win at Bremen: Pumped full of confidence and playing faultless football. A complete makeover. And now with eleven goals in three days. There is no longer any trace of the weeks of crisis."
The Cologne-based Express reports: "Oh dear, Borussia! Gladbach's high flying form and Cup dreams are over with a bump as the Foals trip up in the second round of the Cup against Rhineland rivals Leverkusen with a 5-0 defeat and exit from the competition. The fortress has been breached and almost 49,000 fans witnessed the first hammering at home for VfL this term. What humiliation! Again it is Bayer who hurt the team from the Lower Rhine in the Cup. The Werkself knocked Borussia out last December and now it's happened again. Another turnround for coach Heiko Herrlich who had to worry about losing his job a week ago. The Bremen gala performance (6-2) and now the derby win complete with progress to the Round of 16. Leverkusen are back."
The Rheinische Post identified a negative from a Gladbach perspective: "There was an embarrasing 5-0 home defeat against Leverkusen and Gladbach have never lost by a bigger margin at home in the Cup. With Bayer there is still the hope of satsifying the yearning. Bayer won the Cup in 1993, and no other title since then... The season might only really have started for Bayer in November."
Further headlines: "Leverkusen sweep past Gladbach“ (Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung); "Leverkusen make Mönchengladbach suffer“ (Westdeutsche Zeitung); "Bayer let fly" (Ruhr Nachrichten). At spox.com the report reads: "Sweet instead of sour: Heiko Herrlich can breathe a sigh of relief after a brilliant Cup triumph on Halloween. The clinical Werkself are in the DFB Cup Round of 16 for the seventh time in eight years."
Bayer 04 and Olympiacos had only met twice before the current UEFA Champions campaign. After the encounter on Matchday 7 of this season’s league phase, the Werkself travel to face the Greek side for the second time in just four weeks for the knockout play-off first leg. The Black and Reds were dominant for large spells in mid-January but lost 2-0 after missing a number of presentable chances. The Werkself aim to do better on Wednesday night to “seize the chance for revenge,” as managing director sport Simon Rolfes put it. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game in our matchday news.
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A bitter end to the fifth showdown of the 2025/26 VBL Club Championship as the #B04eSports team failed to take any points in the three remaining matches of the preliminary online round of the fifth and final showdown, missing out on the offline round. They can no longer take points in the overall table. Bayer 04 slipped out on the top eight, so direct participation in the final event for the German Club Championship is no longer possible, with Bayer 04 having to contest the play-offs.
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A rematch in Athens: On Wednesday, 18 February (kick-off: 21:00 CET), the Werkself face Greek double winners Olympiacos for the second time this season at the Karaiskakis Stadium. After the encounter in the league phase, it's now time for the first leg of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League play-offs. Ahead of the game, head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about how his side will approach the clash, while captain Robert Andrich explained how the team will try to dampen the atmosphere in the stadium tomorrow.
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With the much-celebrated 2-1 derby win against 1. FC Köln, the Bayer 04 Women underlined their credentials as one of the top teams in the Bundesliga. Anyone wishing to support the Werkself in the stadium in the race for third place can now purchase tickets for the home match against FC Carl Zeiss Jena. Tickets are also still available for the upcoming clash against TSG Hoffenheim at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium on Sunday, 22 February. The latest information at a glance.
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Let's give it our all one more time! Today, Tuesday 17 February (live on the VBL Twitch channel from 18:00 CET), the #B04eSports team play the remaining three preliminary round matches of the fifth and final showdown of the VBL Club Championship 2025/26. The Leverkusen console pros go up against 1. FC Nürnberg, 1. FC Magdeburg and Bayern Munich, aiming to secure their place in the offline knockout round and pick up valuable points for the overall table and the battle to get into the final event for the German Club Championship. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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