
While the Black and Reds had to enter the play-offs in ninth place in the overall league table, where they defeated SV Darmstadt 98t 98, HSV bypassed the intermediate round with just one point more than Bayer 04 in eighth place.
In front of a large number of opposing fans Sean 'SEAN_LDW07' Landwehr went behind early on against Hamburg's ‘offline ace’ Henning ‘HHENNING23’ Wilmbusse (10’). After that, the game meandered along before the action picked up after half-time and Wilmbusse created several great chances. However, Sean Landwehr also continued to make occasional attacks - and Patrik Schick equalised in the 80th minute to make it 1-1, which was also the final score. An important comeback to avoid going into the second 1v1 game on the back of a defeat.
Marc 'MARC_LDW23' Landwehr came up against Hamburg's Brandon ‘HSV_PERKKIX’ Wüschem, who made a very aggressive start to the game. After just three minutes, there was a setback in the form of an early goal for HSV. But Marc Landwehr did not give up, remained composed and played his game mainly down the flanks. In the closing stages of the first half, the Leverkusen man then scored twice (34', 43'). In the second half, Marc Landwehr finally utilised his routine and vast experience, playing in a cool and collected manner - and thus secured his place in the quarter-finals!
The results at a glance:
Round of 16 VBL CC 2025/26:
Hamburger SV (L) vs Bayer 04 (W)
‘HHENNING23’ 1-1 ‘SEAN_LDW07’
‘HSV_PERKKIX’ 1-2 ‘MARC_LDW23’
Final score: 2-3
The Leverkusen eSports players are in the quarter-finals on Sunday 8 March. Marc and Sean Landwehr face SC Freiburg, who beat FC Kaiserslautern in the Round of 16, from 14:00 CET. Gianluca ‘SCF_GIANLUCA’ Mautone plays alongside Nassim ‘NASSADA-‘ Dahman, currently the best player in the league, FC Pro Open Top 8 and World Cup entrant.
SCF finished the league phase in first place in the overall table. The eSports team from Freiburg entered the offline round in all five showdowns and progressed to at least the semi-finals each time. They went out in the last four three times, lost in a final against RB Leipzig and earned a win against Borussia Dortmund in the final in the fifth showdown.
All quarter-final matches and all subsequent duels in the final round of the VBL CC will be broadcast live on the VBL Twitch channel. Fans of eSports can also watch the event free of charge on site at XPERION in Hamburg. A possible semi-final involving the Black and Reds would start at 16:30 CET. The final for the club title will kick-off at 19:00 CET.

A group of about 50 members of the Bayer 04 Football Academy São Paulo visited Leverkusen over the past few days, accompanied by Bayer 04 club legend Paulo Sergio and Luiz Felipe (managing director of academy in São Paulo) for a week full of football, encounters and very special insights. In addition to the Bundesliga away game in Elversberg and the home game against Union Berlin, the visit also featured a joint training session with the Bayer 04 Football Academy in Leverkusen and a tour of the Bayer AG facilities. The guests also gained special insights into the club and the world of Bayer 04.
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The men's clothing retailer LERROS will remain the official fashion and premium partner of Bayer 04 for the current season. As in the past, LERROS will provide the club's men's team, coaching staff and management with high-quality clothing for international trips.
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“Diaby! Diaby! Diaby!” was the cry around the BayArena as the Werkself danced in front of the north stand following their 4-0 win over Union Berlin. Captain Edmond Tapsoba gave his new (and old) teammate a friendly shove forward to take in the acclaim from the fans. The returning Frenchman was typically reserved in thanking the supporters but was clearly emotional about what was happening.
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Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 4-0 win against Union Berlin on Matchday 2 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season...
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Bayer 04 have been handed a home tie in the second round of the 2026/27 DFB Pokal after being paired with Nürnberg in Saturday evening’s draw at the German Football Museum in Dortmund. Games will be played on 27/28 October, with the German FA to confirm kick-off times in due course.
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