The objective in showdown four is clear: After two rather disappointing outings, the aim now is to build on the strong performance in the first showdown, which Bayer 04 won. As one of the 16 teams with the most points out of 35 teams in the online preliminary round, the Black and Reds are looking to go through to the offline knockout round to be played in Berlin on 2 February where they will fight for victory in the showdown and further important points for the overall table. The points from all online preliminary rounds (3 per win) and offline rounds (2 per win) of the five showdowns will be added together in this table, which will decide who advances to the final round of the German Club Championship next year.
The first match was against VfB Stuttgart. When Sean 'SEAN_LDW07' Landwehr lost 3-2 to Denis ‘DENIS’ Müller in the first duel, the match appeared to have got off to a false start. But that was the only defeat on the night! Against Dylan ‘DULLENMIKE’ Neuhausen, Marc 'MARC_LDW23' Landwehr stayed calm and collected as he produced a goal fest. In the end, he secured victory in match number one with an 8-3 scoreline and the first three points in 2026.
The duels against Hannover 96 continued, with Sean Landwehr and Djamal ‘DJAMALJNR’ Golla playing out a close game that gradually turned in Bayer 04's favour. After being level at 1-1, Sean took a 5-2 lead. Two more goals from Hannover made it exciting again, but the 5-4 win was good enough for Sean in the end. Marc Landwehr then followed up by beating Mustafa ‘XMUSTI19’ Cankal 7-0 - with everything from fantastic free-kick goals and long-range strikes to impressive counter-attacking goals as a result of quick transitions.
The perfect start to the new year and showdown four still needed a win against FC Augsburg - and the Landwehr cousins secured it in a commanding fashion. Sean Landwehr took a 3-0 lead against Yannic ‘YANNIC0109’ Bederke. The Leverkusen player responded to two Augsburg goals by scoring two more - in the end it was 5-2. Marc, who was in outstanding form, then gave Niklas ‘NIKLASRANK’ Rank no chance as he delivered the next resounding victory. The score was 7-1, with the Leverkusen player again impressing with a composed performance and impressive strtikes. Leverkusen made a perfect start by picking up nine points. They are currently second in the Showdown Four table and seventh in the overall table.
Showdown four results:
Showdown 4 (online preliminary round) - Game 1
VfB Stuttgart (L) vs Bayer 04 (W)
‘DENIS’ 3-2 ‘SEAN_LDW07’
‘DULLENMIKE’ 3-8 ‘MARC_LDW23’
Result: 6:10
Showdown 4 (online preliminary round) - Game 2
Hannover 96 (L) vs Bayer 04 (W)
‘DJAMALJNR’ 4-5 ‘SEAN_LDW07’
‘XMUSTI19’ 0-7 ‘MARC_LDW23’
Result: 4:12
Showdown 4 (online preliminary round) - Game 3
FC Augsburg (L) vs Bayer 04 (W)
‘YANNIC0109’ 2-5 ‘SEAN_LDW07’
‘NIKLASRANK’ 1-7 ‘MARC_LDW23’
Result: 3:12
The #B04eSports players are next in action with the final three matches of the preliminary round. They face FC Kaiserslautern, RB Leipzig and SC Freiburg. The current German club champions and Showdown Three winners await the Landwehr cousins in Leipzig, following on from some memorable moments against the team from Saxony last year. More on this in the lowdown on our next opponents on Tuesday.
The matchday kicks off at 18:00 CET and the games will be broadcast live as usual on the Leverkusen Twitch channel and on the Bayer 04 app.
The Bayer 04 women’s team secured a win in the friendly during the international break. Without a total of eight international players, coach Roberto Pätzold’s team defeated Bundesliga 2 side Borussia Mönchengladbach 3–1 at the Kurtekotten Training Centre, thanks to goals from Lobke Loonen (1’, penalty), Caroline Kehrer (41') and Valentina Mädl (66').
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Bayer 04 will have to manage without striker Christian Kofane in the coming weeks. The 20-year-old sustained a muscle injury to his left thigh on international duty with the Cameroon national team during the recent international break. This will prevent him from playing in the upcoming Werkself matches.
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FSV Mainz 05 went into the international break on the back of an away win at Borussia Mönchengladbach. Currently sixth in the table, the Rheinhessen side – who have been impressive on the road – now aim to continue their good start to the Bundesliga campaign at home when they face the Werkself on Saturday, 10 October (kick-off: 15:30 CEST). In terms of squad selection, Urs Fischer once again has more options at his disposal. Up front, the Mainz coach is likely to continue relying on what is currently the league’s most successful strike partnership. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Exciting experiences and exclusive insights into the Werkself and the BayArena awaited the young footballers from the BA04 Football Academy Guangzhou in China during their visit to the Rhineland this week. As well as taking part in a joint training session with the Bayer 04 Football Academy, the youngsters marvelled at the Bundesliga club’s stadium during a guided tour. The highlight of the visit was a private press conference with former Bayer 04 striker Stefan Kießling, during which he shared tips from his own career with the young players. On Saturday afternoon, 10 October, the group will round off their visit by supporting the Werkself in the away match in Mainz.
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Fans ask, Carolin Simon answers: As part of Bayer 04’s second Ask Me Anything (AMA) session on Reddit, the Leverkusen captain took questions from the community. The full-back, who returned to the club this summer after ten years away, set aside an hour and a half for the Q&A session with fans, offering a very personal insight into, amongst other things, her daily life as a footballer and her role as captain, as well as her passion for Pokémon.
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