
The former goalkeeper Andrés Palop, in the Werkself squad in 2013/14, helped draw out the clubs. The first leg will be played on 10 March and the return match is a week later on 17 March. Bayer 04 are away first.
Fernando Carro, Bayer 04 CEO, commented on the draw: "Atalanta are a good opponent, it's always difficult to play against Italian teams." However, the 57-year-old is confident. Carro continued: "I'm optimistic we will successfully master this hurdle and put ourselves in a good position in the first leg away from home."
Sporting director Simon Rolfes added: "Atalanta are one of the best teams in Italy and have developed really well in recent years. They like to get forward and they score lots of goals. For me, this tie is one of the top matches in this round." The future Leverkusen sporting managing director set out the target: "Our aim is to go through. We are at home in the second leg and I'm hoping we can fill the stadium by that time."
Away tickets for the first leg of the Round of 16 in Bergamo (10 March) go on sale on Monday 7 March. Tickets for the second leg at the BayArena (17 March) are available from Tuesday 8 March.
Round of 16:
Rangers vs Red Star Belgrade
Sporting Braga vs AS Monaco
FC Porto vs Lyon
Atalanta vs Bayer 04 Leverkusen
FC Sevilla vs West Ham United
FC Barcelona vs Galatasaray
RB Leipzig vs Spartak Moscow
Real Betis vs Eintracht Frankfurt

It was another incredibly close call in the end: The second showdown in the 2026/27 VBL Club Championship saw the #B04eSports team once again narrowly miss out on a place in the top 16 of the preliminary round – and with it, a spot in the in-person knockout stage. It was a bitter blow: Marc and Sean Landwehr again fell just short, despite being level on points with their rivals. As was the case last month, their weaker record across the twelve individual matches in the six preliminary round fixtures proved decisive.
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“They stuck with us over the past few weeks when things weren’t going so well,” said captain Edmond Tapsoba, thanking the fans for their support after the 2–1 win in Cologne and dedicating the derby victory to them. Throughout the 90 minutes, the Werkself had looked unfazed and in command, inflicting the first home defeat of the season on FC Köln. It was the sixth consecutive win against the Cologne team for Bayer 04 – head coach Carles Martínez, on the other hand, was facing the team from the neighbouring city for the first time and “now really knows what this derby win means”. The Werkself derby review.
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Following the 2–1 derby victory away at FC Köln on Bundesliga matchday 9, Edmond Tapsoba, Malik Tillman and Aleix Garcia spoke to Werkself TV...
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Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 2-1 derby win at 1. FC Köln Matchday 9 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season...
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There were celebrations among those in black and red at the RheinEnergieSTADION. On Matchday 9 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season, the Werkself beat 1. FC Köln 2-0 and registered their sixth successive win in the derby. Aleix Garcia put Bayer 04 in front after just seven minutes with a direct free kick. Leverkusen played with discipline and energy after that and didn't allow some fierce challenges to unsettle them. Patrik Schick made it 2-0 in the 86th minute, and Said El Mala's goal in stoppage time for Köln proved nothing more than consolation. Jonas Hofmann crowned the derby win with his 100th appearance for the club.
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