Matchday 9 in the VBL Club Championship against FC Köln started at 15.30 CET with a 2 vs 2 encounter between Marc ‘MARC_LDW23’ Landwehr and Furkan ‘FURKY’ Kayacik against Denis ‘DENIS’ Müller and Tim ‘THESTRXNGER’ Katnawatos. The derby was appropriately exciting from the start: Leverkusen levelled after going 2-0 down before the Black and Reds e-Sports duo turned the game round late on with a winner at 3-2 (88’).
As the 1 vs 1 game between Landwehr and Köln’s Müller ended all square at 1-1 the final result came in the third game. Mario ‘BULJI’ Lovrinovic lost 2-1 against Katnawatos. That meant the derby ended in a draw with one point for each team.
The following fixture on matchday 10 against top-of-the-table Hansa Rostock lacked a similar intensity and excitement. The match began at 17.30 CET with the opening two vs two again involving Landwehr and Kayacik this time against Levy Finn ‘LEVYFINN’ Rieck and Henning ‘FCH_HENNING’ Wilmbusse. The Leverkusen eSports players ran out 3-1 winners clocking up the fourth 2 vs 2 victory in the current season.
Landwehr and Rostock’s Rieck then drew 1-1 in the 1 vs 1 clash. Once again, the final result came to down to the third match with Furky securing an impressive 4-0 win against Rostock’s Wilmbusse. Leverkusen thereby picked up three points against the league leaders from the Baltic coast. It was the first defeat for Hansa Rostock in the VBL CC 2022/23 campaign.
The #B04eSports team can now go into the next double matchday in confident mood. The fixture is on Tuesday 6 December. Leverkusen first play FC St. Pauli on matchday 11 at 18.30 CET and that is followed at 19.30 CET with matchday 12 against Hannover 96.
The results on matchdays 9 and 10:
FC Köln vs Bayer 04 (1 point)
Two vs two: 2-3
Müller against Landwehr: 1-1
Katnawatos against Lovrinovic: 2-1
Bayer 04 vs FC Hansa Rostock (3 points)
Two vs two: 3-1
Landwehr against Rieck: 1-1
Furky against Wilmbusse: 4-0
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Panagiotis, known as Panos, Retsos wore the Bayer 04 jersey for three years. Including his loan spells, he was under contract with the Werkself for a total of four and a half years. "It's a very special club for me," said the 27-year-old, who returned to his boyhood club Olympiacos in 2022, in an interview with bayer04.de. The former Leverkusen man is now captain and a first choice for the Werkself's next opponents in the UEFA Champions League. Ahead of the clash on Tuesday night, 20 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET), Retsos talks about his fond memories of his time in Leverkusen and the imminent reunion with some of his former team-mates. He also talks about who brought him to Leverkusen and why he likes getting older.
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