The fact that this team can play very good football in spite of having less familiar players, was experienced first-hand by Bayer 04 in the game at the start of the month. The Werkself did end up with a 4-2 win but were behind thanks to a brace from the impressive striker Elton Acolatse. A performance the Israelis can be proud of. And the displays in the other two group matches against Slavia Prague (3-1) and Nice (0-1) were also very impressive.
The team would gladly have taken that form into the league but Hapoel have recently discovered they are two different competitions. At home against Kfar Saba, a few days after the game against the Werkself, they could only manage a goalless draw and last weekend, Be'er Sheva lost 2-0 at FC Ashdod and have now slipped down to tenth place. "It's a different way of playing than in Europe," said coach Yossi Abukasis following the defeat. "We have to contribute different facets of our game." So he could almost be happy to now return to the international stage where his team have impressed with their lightning fast counter-attacking football.
One thing will probably will be crucially different from the last time. Captain and defensive stalwart Miguel Vitor, the absolute centre of the defence and Israel's Player of the Year in 2017, suffered a thigh muscle injury in the draw against Kfar Saba and he had to be substituted. The Portuguese did not play at the weekend and the central defender will probably miss the game against the Werkself. His role as the organiser of the defence and captain will probably be taken by Loai Taha. The Israeli international, with twelve caps, will celebrate his 31st birthday at the BayArena on Thursday.
Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 4-0 win at SGS Essen on the 24th matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2025/26.
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In the previous game against RB Leipzig in December last year, the Werkself turned came from behind to win 3-1 and further improved Leverkusen's already strong record against the Red Bulls. Montrell Culbreath stood out with his first goal on his debut for the Black and Reds. While the 18-year-old would certainly like to score a second goal against Leipzig on Saturday night, the attack-minded visitors come to the BayArena in confident mood after five Bundesliga victories in a row. The Nordkurve12 supporters group knows the Werkself will therefore once again be reliant on the vociferous support of the fans, and has once again called for the ‘Finally Red’ campaign in the run-in. Today’s matchday news.
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Video games manufacturer Electronic Arts (EA), together with the German Football League (DFL), announced the top male and female selections for the 2025/26 Bundesliga season this week. Bayer 04 striker Vanessa Fudalla is in the starting eleven of the women's "Team of the Season". Alejandro Grimaldo and Aleix Garcia have been selected as bench players in the men's team.
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After matchday 31 and the 2-1 derby win in Cologne, one thing is certain: Bayer 04 will at least compete in the UEFA Europa League in the coming 2026/27 campaign. But the Werkself want more. Looking at the race for Champions League qualification and the remaining three league fixtures, including against direct rivals, bayer04.de outlines the possible scenarios in the season run-in.
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This special event showed once again how strong Bayer 04 are as a team: As part of ‘BarmeniaGothaer gives joy’, the Werkself players Edmond Tapsoba, Ibrahim Maza and Christian Kofane supported the sale of individually designed T-shirts for a good cause at the Fanwelt on Thursday. Several hundred fans came to take part in the charity campaign. Leverkusen's main sponsor BarmeniaGothaer donated the proceeds to the Fondation Edmond Tapsoba, which helps people in Tapsoba's home country of Burkina Faso in their challenging everyday lives.
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