The Werkself have put an "End to the crisis" against the team from Hessen after a run of three games without a win as the headline in the Süddeutsche Zeitung suggests. In an "extensively exciting and intense battle", the team under head coach Peter Bosz secured revenge for the 2-1 defeat in the Bundesliga ten days ago.
The Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger highlights the mentality of the Werkself in their review. Commenting on the second half: "Bayer went into the second half full of confidence and finished with even more. The reward came on 49 minutes albeit with the help of the match officials. Kerem Demirbay, who was bossing the game in midfield, hit a free kick from 40 yards out onto the head of Edmond Tapsoba who guided the ball into the net. Refereed Dingert drew a decisive and wrong conclusion: goal. Bayer 04 were 3-1 up although Tapsoba was in an offside position."
Moussa Diaby, with his brace, and midfield dynamo Demirbay earned top marks on the night according to the KStA.
The report in the Rheinische Post begins with an historic fact: "Bayer Leverkusen have played 71 league games against Eintracht Frankfurt but the fixture, which has never ended goalless, is a rarity in the cup. The two teams only met for the second time in the knockout competition." As a reminder: The first cup tie also ended with a three-goal advantage to the Werkself. In the semi-final in 1993, Andy Thom, Ulf Kirsten and Co. beat SGE 3-0 and then went on to bring the trophy back to the Rhineland.
But back to the here and now: The Bild saw a match at the BayArena that "was not as clear-cut as the result suggests." Under the headline ("Through with 10 men! Now it's Essen for Bayer") the tabloid highlights the dismissal of Jonathan Tah for an alleged professional foul (73'). And also looks at the next cup opponents for the Werkself: Rot-Weiss Essen. The fourth division team knocked out Fortuna Düsseldorf in the second round with a 3-2 win. Last year's cup finalists now travel to the Ruhr Valley at the start of February...
The European jersey has been launched, the UEL opponents have been drawn – and anticipation for the European campaign is running high. To mark the occasion, an autograph session was held on Friday afternoon, 28 August, at the Fanwelt with current Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and official club legend Paulo Sergio.
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After six and a half years, Exequiel Palacios is leaving the Bundesliga and moving from Bayer 04 to the Premier League. The Argentine, who as a Werkself player won the World Cup with his national team four years ago and finished as runners-up at this summer’s tournament, will play for newly promoted English side Ipswich Town with immediate effect. The 27-year-old, whose contract in Leverkusen was due to run until 30 June 2030, joined Bayer 04 in January 2020 as a promising young talent. He steadily developed into one of the best defensive midfielders in the German top flight.
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When Exequiel Palacios moved from the Argentinian club River Plate to Bayer Leverkusen on 1 January 2020, the then 21-year-old could not have imagined just how successful the next six and a half years would be for him. Pala, as he is known, had already won the Copa Libertadores – the most prestigious competition in South American club football – with River Plate. But there were still so many more trophies to come.
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To mark Exequiel Palacios’s departure, we’ve put together a compilation of the midfielder’s finest and most important goals from his six-and-a-half years at the club.
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