Fernando Carro, CEO of Bayer 04, said on the draw: "It's a long journey but we're looking forward to the round of 16. We have a good and close relationship with Qarabag and the club's management. They played well in the play-off against Braga. We'll have to take them very seriously and remain as focused as we have been to date."
Simon Rolfes, managing director for sport: "It a familiar opponent for us but certainly not an easy one. Qarabag are a strong side, as they proved in the group stage just gone. The way they turned it around late on in the play-off against Braga deserves great respect. We'll approach this task with a high level of concentration in order to qualify for the quarter-finals over two challenging legs."
Qarabag finished second in Group H behind Bayer 04 and qualified for the round of 16 by beating Portuguese side Braga in the knockout round play-offs. It's the first time Qarabag have reached the last 16 of a UEFA competition.
The first leg will be played in Baku on Thursday 7 March, with the return leg a week later at the BayArena on Thursday 14 March. The exact kick-off times will be announced on the club's channels as soon as they're confirmed. Ticket information for both games will also follow in due course.
The Europa League quarter-finals take place on 11 and 18 April, the semi-finals on 2 and 9 May. The final in Dublin takes place on 22 May.
The round of 16 draw in full
Sparta Praha vs. Liverpool
Olympique Marseille vs. Villarreal CF
AS Roma vs. Brighton & Hove Albion
Benfica vs. Rangers
SC Freiburg vs. West Ham United
Sporting Lisbon vs. Atalanta
AC Milan vs. Slavia Praha
Qarabag vs. Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personalised Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month…
Show moreTo all Bayer 04 fans: The Fanwelt will be closed all day next Monday 30 June. This is due to preparations for the change of kit supplier from Castore to New Balance on Tuesday 1 July.
Show moreThe Norway U23 international Julie Jorde has completed the move from Bayer 04 Leverkusen to Brøndby IF. The twelve-time champions of Denmark have signed the midfielder on permanent terms after her loan move from the Bundesliga to Denmark in the winter.
Show moreIt is almost two years since Bayer 04 new signing Abdoulaye Faye first stepped foot into the BayArena as a player for the Swedish club BK Häcken in the opening match in the 2023/24 Europa League campaign. A day before his nineteenth birthday, the central defender did not play in the 4-0 win for the Werkself but it was "an incredible night" for him on 21 September 2023 as he explained in his first interview on bayer04.de. "I watched the players and saw the fans. I liked it." It was also the first European night early on in his career. He only joined the then champions of Sweden in the cold north of Europe from his home in Senegal a few weeks before that special moment. Bayer04.de profiles our new defender.
Show moreWelcome, Abdoulaye Faye. The 20-year-old Senegalese central defender joins Leverkusen from top-flight Swedish club BK Häcken. In his first interview he talks about his move to Bayer 04 and his targets with the Werkself.
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