Still first out of the blocks in the Bundesliga, the Werkself had to come from behind on Thursday night. Ryan Mmaee opened the scoring for Ferencváros on eight minutes, Exequiel Palacios levelled on 37 minutes. After four substitutions for Leverkusen, Florian Wirtz netted the winner at 2-1 (69’). The match report is HERE.
Let's start with the reaction from the opponents for a change – this time from Ferencváros head coach Peter Stöger (formerly at FC Köln and Borussia Dortmund). When asked about the performance of the 18-year-old Leverkusen matchwinner Wirtz, the Austrian said with a smile: "He's not bad. It's fun watching him. But not today."
The scorer of the winning goal was also at the end of the microphone after the game. Wirtz on making it 2-1: "It was a great assist from Jerry (Jeremie Frimpong, ed.). He saw I had lots of space. I struggled to control the ball at first but in the end I just hit it into the empty corner of the net," said the playmaker. "It's great to have fans back in the stadium and for me to give them a couple of goals."
Let's carry on with him while he is talking about it. Our number 27 has been simply outstanding so far this season. He has been directly involved in a Werkself goal every 34 minutes. And Palacios has scored his first goal for Bayer 04. The Argentinian made it 1-0 on 37 minutes.
Piero Hincapie made his debut in the Black and Red. The 19-year-old summer signing from Talleres Cordoba came on at left-back in place of Daley Sinkgraven on 66 minutes. The trio of Mitchel Bakker, Robert Andrich and Paulinho, who were all in the starting line-up for the 4-3 defeat against Borussia Dortmund at the weekend, did not play in this game.
The only stat on the side of the visitors from Hungary: Ferencváros won 53.4% of challenges made. Otherwise, all the other numbers favour the Black and Reds. Two thirds of possession, a pass completion rate of 90.2% (Ferencváros: 80.8%) and 22 shots on goal compared with 10 for the Hungarians – those numbers are impressive. Thanks to the 2-1 victory, Bayer 04 have now gone 13 home games unbeaten in the Europa League (10 wins, three draws).
The BILD sums up the two Leverkusen goals on the night as follows: "Palacios scores an impressive goal from the edge of the box with a curler into the top left corner. After Frimpong wins possession, Wirtz cuts in and places the ball into the bottom right corner." Kicker praises head coach Gerardo Seoane: The substitutions made by the Swiss "paid off quickly" – that's how it should be.
The Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger provided individual marks to the players as usual. Frimpong and Wirtz both got second highest marks while the Rheinische Post awarded the top mark to Karim Bellarabi who came off the bench on 66 minutes.
The Werkself return to Bundesliga action three days after the opening match in the Europa League: Sunday, 19 September, brings an away game at VfB Stuttgart. The kick-off at the Mercedes Benz Arena is at 15.30 CEST. There are no games in Europe next week.
Vanessa Haim became Bayer 04 Women's sixth summer signing shortly before the start of the training camp in Poland. Around two months after her arrival in Leverkusen, the 27-year-old tells bayer04.de about her move under the Cross and her former job as a teacher.
Show moreThe second international break of the 2024/25 season is round the corner. After the Bundesliga clash against Holstein Kiel this Saturday, 5 October (kick-off 15:30 CEST), several Bayer 04 players will be playing in the next set of UEFA Nations League fixtures, among others. An overview.
Show moreThe 1,193 spectators who attended the Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion for the Werkself's 2-2 draw at home to Eintracht Frankfurt on Matchday 2 of the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga also supported a good cause. As part of the DFB's 'Together: Good Game' action day on the theme of sustainability, Bayer 04 donated two euros from every ticket sold to the Leverkusen Women's Helpline.
Show moreIn the first competitive meeting between Bayer 04 and AC Milan, one goal was enough to earn the Black-and-Reds another three points in the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League. The players and staff were positive in their assessment of the narrow victory at home on Matchday 2, while there was also praise for the fans for their part. The Werkself Review.
Show more