There was an element of relief in the end. "It was a difficult game," said Romelu Lukaku in analysing the Round of 16 game against Getafe last Wednesday. The Spanish club pushed Inter Milan to the limits in Gelsenkirchen: Getafe had early chances to take the lead and later missed a penalty that would have levelled the scores. The progress of the 'Nerazzurri’ was touch and go in the first game after the Europa League restart. However, the superior individual quality of the Serie A runners-up won out in the end: An irresistible individual performance by star striker Lukaku put Inter in front in the first half, and after Getafe missed the penalty, substitute Christian Eriksen sealed the victory at 2-0.
"The Europa League is an important competition for us," said coach Antonio Conte. He knows: His team can go far this year. "The lads are consistently improving and we are now very difficult to beat." With the introduction of Conte and several top European players last summer, Inter have taken a step towards being one of the absolute top clubs in Europe again. They were just one point behind serial champions Juventus in Serie A and the Champions League campaign ended in the group of death with Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund. In the Europa League, Inter first convincingly beat Ludogorets (2-0; 2-1) – and now have deservedly beaten Getafe.
Hats off to anybody who can afford to bring on a Christian Eriksen on 82 minutes. The Danish playmaker, in the starting eleven in the Champions League final last season, is currently the super sub at Inter – in spite of the indisputable class that the midfielder showed against Getafe: Just a few seconds on the pitch and he set himself up to score the goal to make it 2-0. Conte praised the Dane after the Getafe game: "He's fitting in with us more and more." But the squad is currently so full of stars that it is not a given that Eriksen can expect a regular berth in the side.
The club invested heavily last summer: In addition to coach Conte, the former manager at Juve, Chelsea and Italy, there were a host of high quality players like central striker Lukaku, experienced defender Diego Godin and – initially on loan – striker Alexis Sanchez who Inter have now signed on a permanent deal as the club announced on Thursday. In the winter, big names like Ashley Young, Victor Moses and Eriksen followed. Together with quality players already in the squad, such as the much fancied striker Lautaro Martinez, midfield enforcer Marcelo Brozovic and central defender Stefan de Vrij, the transfer activity has produced a team that does not have to fear any other side on the continent.
"We often got it wrong when we played out from the back," said a critical Conte after the Getafe game. In the opening stages of the game, the Spaniards actually managed to put Inter under pressure in transition and thereby often caused the Nerazzurri to lose possession. Otherwise, the team have scarcely made any mistakes in recent weeks and the only evident problem is probably more of a media invention: The reserve role of winter signing Eriksen is a constant subject for discussion in Italy’s newspapers and television broadcasts. But something could soon change in that respect.
Inter Milan appear to be back at the top of European football for the first time since the historic treble season of 2009/2010 under José Mourinho. Even in Serie A, the former regular champions (five scudetti in succession from 2006 to 2010) slipped down to mid-table but now the big renaissance appears to be taking hold. With this high quality – albeit predominately aging – squad, Inter have a great chance in the next few years to win another title – possibly starting this summer.
No question: Inter present a tough challenge for the Werkself. Of the eight remaining teams, there is perhaps no other that has such a large number of big names in their squad. This game could be a real treat and not just for Bayer 04 supporters as it definitely has the potential to be one of the highlight matches of the Europa League tournament – and the winner will have more than realistic chance of progressing to the final in Cologne in the last four against either Shakhtar Donetsk or Basel. There could hardly be more at stake in a quarter-final and it is also clear: The Werkself will need a top performance to go through to the next round.
Video game developer Electronic Arts (EA), in collaboration with the Bundesliga, has announced the six nominees for the Bundesliga Player of the Month award for October 2026 – and Bayer 04’s Ibrahim Maza is among them. Fans of the Black and Reds can vote from now until Sunday 8 November (23:59 CET).
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On Tuesday night, the Leverkusen e-sports team played the first three of their six group stage matches in the second round of the 2026/27 VBL Club Championship. They were unable to secure more than a draw in either of their matches against FC Augsburg and VfB Stuttgart. The match against Bayern Munich ended in defeat.
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Once again, several Werkself players are set to represent their respective national teams during the final international break of the calendar year. Here is an overview of the Leverkusen players called up for international duty and the match dates. This will be updated regularly.
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The Bundesliga has announced the nominees for the ‘Top Goal of the Month’ award for October. Fans of the Werkself can now vote for, amongst others, Robert Andrich’s stunning volley from the match against Mainz 05 or Moussa Diaby’s curling shot into the top corner from the same fixture. Voting, exclusively on the Bundesliga app, remains open until Sunday, 8 November (23:59 CET).
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