Back
26.02.2023Europa League

Europa League: Werkself face Ferencvaros in last 16

Bayer 04 meet Ferencvaros in the Europa League Round of 16. That was the outcome of the draw held at the UEFA HQ in Nyon on Friday afternoon 24 February. The draw was made by Zoltan Gera.
Bayer 04 - Ferencvaros Budapest
Bayer 04 - Ferencvaros Budapest

First leg on Thursday 9 March:

Bayer 04 Leverkusen vs Ferencvaros

Second leg on Thursday 16 March:

Ferencvaros vs Bayer 04 Leverkusen

The eight games were drawn from two pots. Pot 1 had the winners of the group stage of Europa League, Pot 2 the runners-up in the play-off round. The winners in the group stage are at home in the first leg.

REACTION TO THE DRAW

Simon Rolfes,  Bayer 04 sporting managing director: "A good opponent. Ferencváros were top of their group ahead of Monaco. That says a lot as we've already seen how strong Monaco are. But we go into the tie with great confidence and we want to get a good result in the first leg  at the BayArena. Our target is the quarter-finals."

Fernando Carro, Bayer 04 CEO: "Ferencváros are a team we know very well from last season's Europa League campaign. There were two tight games in the group stage. This is a very attractive challenge and visiting Budapest will also be worth it for our fans. We want to continue our progress in Europe together and I'm optimistic we can go through to the next round."

Xabi Alonso, Bayer 04 head coach: "Ferencváros are by far the best team in Hungary and they dominate their league and they also won their group in the Europa League. So, a difficult opponent where we will need  to produce our best performances in two games. But I trust our team - we want to win and take the next step."

TICKET INFOrmation

Tickets for the first leg on Thursday 9 March go on sale today at 15.00 CET. Click here for first leg tickets

​Round of 16 ties:

Union Berlin vs Union St. Gilloise

Sevilla vs Fenerbahce

Juventus vs SC Freiburg

Ferencváros vs Bayer 04 Leverkusen

Sporting CP vs Arsenal

Real Betis vs Manchester United

Real Sociedad vs AS Roma

Feyenoord vs Shakhtar Donetsk

 

Related News

Alejo Sarco
Bayer 04 - 20.01.2026

Bayer 04 loan striker Sarco to Borussia Mönchengladbach

Bayer 04 Leverkusen have agreed a loan deal with Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach for Argentinian striker Alejo Sarco. The 20-year-old joins Mönchengladbach with immediate effect for the rest of the season.

Show more
Kurzpässe vor #OLYB04
Champions League - 20.01.2026

Matchday news #OLYB04: Looking for third UCL win

The Werkself are away to Greek double winners Olympiacos on matchday 7 in the league phase of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League campaign. Tonight, 20 January (kick-off: 22:00 local time/21:00 CET), Bayer 04 will not only face a familiar face in Panagiotis Retsos, but also an experienced and successful team in their Greek top-flight opponents. The Olympiacos midfield and forward line in particular are peppered with seasoned veterans from top European clubs - but even they will first have to find solutions against the Werkself defence that has recently performed with aplomb in the UCL. The matchday news.

Show more
PK
Champions League - 19.01.2026

Hjulmand ahead of #OLYB04: ‘Our philosophy is our weapon’

The Werkself are away to Greek double winners Olympiacos on matchday 7 of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League league phase. Ahead of the clash on Tuesday, 20 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET), head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about anticipation for the game. Werkself player Ibrahim Maza also gave an insight into dealing with the recent setbacks.

Show more
Trio
Champions League - 19.01.2026

Our next opponents: Olympiacos will have to make do without overhead kick star

After their first win on matchday 6 in the UCL league phase, Olympiacos are still in with a good chance of reaching the play-offs in the UEFA Champions League. The 2024 UEFA Conference League winners will be looking to go one better in their home match against Bayer 04 this Tuesday, 20 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET), but their stop scorer is unavailable. The lowdown on our next opponents.

Show more
Panagiotis Retsos
Champions League - 19.01.2026

‘I was very happy in Leverkusen’: 04 questions for former Werkself player and Olympiacos captain Panagiotis Retsos

Panagiotis, known as Panos, Retsos wore the Bayer 04 jersey for three years. Including his loan spells, he was under contract with the Werkself for a total of four and a half years. "It's a very special club for me," said the 27-year-old, who returned to his boyhood club Olympiacos in 2022, in an interview with bayer04.de. The former Leverkusen man is now captain and a first choice for the Werkself's next opponents in the UEFA Champions League. Ahead of the clash on Tuesday night, 20 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET), Retsos talks about his fond memories of his time in Leverkusen and the imminent reunion with some of his former team-mates. He also talks about who brought him to Leverkusen and why he likes getting older.

Show more