The matches against Borussia Mönchengladbach came first early on Tuesday evening. "We set ourselves the target of overtaking a direct rival in Gladbach at the end of the first half of the season," said Marc ‘MARC_LDW23’ Landwehr before the encounter. And the 18-year-old achieved the target together with his teammates: Thanks to the 5-2 overall win against the Foals eSports players, the Black and Reds went ahead of Mönchengladbach in the table at the end of the first of the season.
‘MARC_LDW23’ secured a 1-1 draw on PlayStation 5 at the start of the evening, Fabian ‘B04_DUBZJE’ de Cae on Xbox Series S/X drew 2-2. As ‘MARC_LDW23’ and Paul ‘B04_PAUL’ Degner were able to come out with a 2-0 victory in the 2vs2 match, the #B04eSports players were able to go ahead of their Rhineland rivals in the VBL table.
The success on matchday 12 was incredibly important in two respects as the top six finish in the first half of the season puts the Black and Reds through to the main round of the DFB eCup.
Leverkusen went into the opening fixture of the second half of the season in confident mood – for them games against Holstein Kiel. In the 1vs1 match on PS 5, ‘MARC_LDW23’ picked up the first three points for the Werkself with a 2-1 win but ‘B04_DUBZJE’ was on the wrong end of a 4-2 scoreline on Xbox. The overall result was a 4-4 draw as the final 2vs2 game ended all square at 2-2.
After 13 of 24 matchdays, the #B04eSports team are currently sixth in the North West Division, which would qualify them for the VBL play-offs at the end of the season. There is just a one-point gap to fourth place.
There are no games next week with the next VBL CC matches being played on 25 January against ninth-placed Schalke (18.00 CET) and VfL Bochum, who are currently eighth in the table (20.00 CET).
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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Newly promoted SV 07 Elversberg will begin the 2026/27 season as Bundesliga club number 59. The Saarland club start their first Bundesliga campaign at home to the Werkself on Saturday, 29 August (kick-off 15:30 CEST) at the URSAPHARM Arena on Kaiserlinde, which is currently being rebuilt. For one Leverkusen player in the ‘Elv’ line-up, the clash will be a special reunion. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Ernest Poku is leaving Bayer 04 Leverkusen to play in the Turkish Süper Lig. The club has loaned the Dutch winger to Beşiktaş for one year. If certain criteria are met, the Istanbul club – who finished fourth in the Turkish top flight last season – will be obliged to make the move permanent.
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