How important the return match at the BayArena is to Young Boys was evident on Sunday. In the league match against Servette, coach Gerardo Seoane rotated seven players from the side that faced the Werkself – and he said that was based on the return match. "We need a top performance against Leverkusen," said the coach at the post-match press conference. "For that, we need fresh legs and clear minds. That was the basic reason for who played today and who didn't." Jordan Siebatcheu, who scored two goals in the 4-3 win in the first leg, was not in the squad, "to avoid getting injured," said Seoane.
The coach was able to make the large number of changes. Bern secured a comfortable 2-0 victory. They took an early lead through an own goal by the visitors and the final scoreline was complete before half-time with a header from striker Jean-Pierre Nsame. Nsame, Bern's top goalscorer, remains suspended for the return match against the Werkself – as does central defender Mohamed Camara who was sent off in added time against Servette. That did not affect the deserved victory – and the hoped-for revenge: Young Boys suffered their only defeat of the season in the Super League in the previous match against Servette.
But now, "the focus is on Leverkusen," as striker Felix Mambimbi said straight after the game. The YB captain Fabian Lustenberger added: "We have a great chance and we want to do our best to prepare for that."
Young Boys need a draw to go through and to improve their record in Germany. The Swiss team have only won one of their eleven games there but that does include five draws. Number six would put them in the Round of 16 – and that would be the best performance in this competition at the eighth attempt. The former Hertha player Lustenberger declared: "We have the game of the year ahead of us on Thursday."
Following last weekend’s big game against Wolfsburg, Bayer 04 Women face another exciting challenge as they visit Hoffenheim to kick off Matchday 3 in the Google Pixel Bundesliga on Friday (kick-off: 18:30 CEST).
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Under the slogan ‘Holidays without War’, 60 children from war-torn Ukraine took part in the summer camp organised by the German-Ukrainian association Blau-Gelbes Kreuz in Leverkusen and the surrounding area in August. The children aged between 10 and 14 – many of whom have lost their parents in the war – come from the Ukrainian twin towns of Leverkusen, Cologne and Monheim am Rhein: Nikopol, Dnipro and Volodymyr. Bayer 04, Bayer AG and TSV Bayer 04 supported the camp to mark its 10th anniversary, enabling even more children and young people than in previous years to spend a few carefree days’ holiday away from the war in the Rhineland.
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Midfielder Ruby Grant is leaving Bayer 04 Leverkusen and joining Portuguese runners-up Sporting CP a year before her contract expires. The 24-year-old has been at the Werkself since January 2025.
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Bayer 04 have loaned Brazilian full-back Arthur to Bundesliga side Werder Bremen for one year. Arthur Augusto de Matos Soares – the full name of the right-back – has a contract with Leverkusen until 30 June 2031. At Werder, the 23-year-old is expected to make an impact and help the long-established club further consolidate their position in the Bundesliga.
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