On the back of the 2-1 win in the first leg at the BayArena, the Black and Reds flew out from Cologne/Bonn Airport on a charter flight – a Luxair Boeing 737-800 – bound for the second biggest city in Portugal. The plane set off with a slight delay from the snow-covered Rhineland and landed at 12.42 local time with the temperature at 15 degrees, with light cloud and sunshine in Porto.
The team checked into the Sheraton Hotel in the afternoon, five kilometres away from tomorrow’s venue the Estádio do Dragão. The travel time in the city with its population of 250.000 is much shorter than for the Champions League away game in Moscow (2:0 at Lokomotiv) – and a great advantage in terms of local logistics.
Long-term injury Kevin Volland did not fly out following the successful operation on his left ankle. Midfielder Charles Aránguiz did not make the flight to the Atlantic coast – even though that was just a precaution. The Chilean is suffering with a bout of flu and the medical section did not want to take any risks. It is possible Aránguiz may be available for the top match at RB Leipzig on Sunday, 1 March (kick-off: 15.30 CET).
Rudi Völler, sporting managing director at the Werkself, did travel with the team. The 59-year-old faced the media ahead of departure from Germany. Völler declared: “We played well in the first game and unfortunately conceded near the end of the game. 2-1 is a dangerous result but we are always capable of creating chances and scoring goals as we’ve seen away to good opponents in the Bundesliga. Only defending against such a good team as Porto is not an option.”
Central defender Sven Bender backed him up: “It would be insane to play for a 0-0 draw. We’re going to play to win!” Playmaker Kai Havertz warned: “It was a blow conceding at home. We can be dangerous away and score goals.” Nadiem Amiri saw that as a key to success: “We just have to score but we can do that with our quality up front. If we score, we can go through.”
A remarkable stat suggests scoring at Porto is on the cards: The Werkself have scored in every game this year – with a grand total of 21 goals in eight games. However, it will be anything but easy to find the back of the net against Porto with their strength at home even though they are without key defender Pepe due to injury.
Winter signing and Portugal expert Edmond Tapsoba will be at the pre-match press conference. The Mali international has got off to a flying start with the Werkself and is now a first choice for the back line. The Portuguese media have requested the presence of the 21-year-old. All clubs are obliged by UEFA to provide a player and their head coach for the press conference ahead of the game. Here’s to a successful return to Portugal!
Kicking off the new season with a fresh look: Bayer 04, in collaboration with sportswear manufacturer New Balance, has unveiled the official kit for Leverkusen’s e-Sports players for the coming season. The jersey is now available from the Bayer 04 online shop and the Fanwelt.
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Paulo Sergio and Bayer 04 have enjoyed close ties since the Werkself training camp in his native Brazil last summer. The club legend is in charge of the Bayer 04 Soccer Academy, which opened in the summer of 2025, and he has also been at this year’s training camp in the Weimarer Land. As well as interacting with the many fans who travelled to the camp, the 1994 World Cup winner used the time to plan the next steps for the Academy together with club officials. In an interview with bayer04.de, Sergio spoke about the project’s future development, the upcoming visit by young Academy players to Leverkusen, and plans for the coming months in Germany and Brazil.
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A round-up of the Werkself training camp in the Weimarer Land, all in one place: in our daily blog you’ll find all the insights and updates from the day. Day five (Thursday 6 August) is as follows: The squad have the final open session of the training camp in the morning. After lunch, there will be a team event.
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A round-up of the Werkself training camp in the Weimarer Land, all in one place: in our daily blog you’ll find all the insights and updates from the day. Day four (Wednesday 5 August) is all about training. The day begins with a gruelling open training session – new signing Miguel Gutiérrez also takes part. A second session follows in the afternoon, this time behind closed doors.
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At the training camp in the Weimarer Land region, Bayer 04 head coach Carles Martínez and his long-standing assistant Pol García talk about their first few weeks with the Werkself, their expectations of their own work, the coaching staff and the squad, as well as the style of football they want the team to play. They emphasise the importance of a winning mentality within the team, comment on cultural and personal differences in the world of football, and outline their goals for the coming season...
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