There could hardly have been a better start to the new season in the Virtual Bundesliga (VBL) for the Black and Reds: A 5-2 win against Holstein Kiel was followed later on the evening by a 9-0 victory against Schalke 04. That means the Werkself eSports players are currently top of the North West division on 14 points.
Bayer 04's opponents Bochum and Hannover are next to each other in the table: VfL are currently seventh with seven points and Hannover 96 are in eighth place with one point less.
At the same time, the team from Lower Saxony have only played once. They had to be spectators on the second matchday due to the unequal number of teams. "They started well against Wolfsburg. There will be more tight and exciting clashes," warned Fabian ‘B04_DUBZJE’ de Cae, who started on Xbox and won both one-on-one encounters for openers.
All games involving the #B04eSports players will be streamed live as usual on the Bayer 04 Twitch channel.
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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On Friday afternoon, it will be decided which eight of the 36 participating teams Bayer 04 will face in the group stage of the UEFA Europa League in 2026/27. At the draw in Monaco (live on UEFA.com), the Werkself will be drawn against two teams from each of the four pots, allocated according to the UEFA club coefficient. A match against an opponent from the same country is ruled out, as is facing more than two clubs from the same national association. Here’s a look at the pots and potential opponents.
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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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