"Easy group win" is the headline in the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger and the report reads: "There was no strict approach to the battle for first place in the group on Thursday night at the BayArena. That would have required two teams striving for victory. Indeed, Bayer 04 Leverkusen strolled to a 4-1 win over Slavia Prague, who were incredibly weak at times, to secure good position for the Europa League Round of 32 draw on Monday in Nyon (13.00 CET) and an additional bonus of €1 million. In addition, the Werkself worked on their outstanding first half of the season stats: It was the twelfth win in 17 games with four draws and just one defeat – suffered in the game in Prague with a man down."
The Bild Zeitung highlights the scorer of the brace for the Werkself: "Bailey show and goals record. Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bayer Leverkusen beat Slavia Prague 4-0 in the final for the top spot in Group C the Europa League. The Werkself scored a total of 21 goals in the group stage – no other German team has scored as many in this competition. […] Leon Bailey was able to 'run riot' for 45 minutes – he laid on the next show. Bailey: 'It was a great team performance with a clean sheet.' The Jamaican stood out with his brace. Karim Bellarabi set up Bailey's first goal (8'). The second (32') was a tap-in after Patrik Schick hit the post with a flying header."
Just like the Bild Zeitung, the Rheinische Post awarded Bailey's display top marks. And the assessment of the performance of Daley Sinkgraven was no less positive: "The Dutchman set up the opener for Leon Bailey with a defence-splitting pass to Karim Bellarabi. Bayer's number 22, playing on the left side of midfield, showed he could do much more than just defend. His tap-in for the would-be second goal (26') was adjudged to have been offside – an error by the match official. He did set up the goal to make it 3-0 (59')."
And the online edition of the kicker looks at the outstanding Leverkusen attack: "Leverkusen set a record early in the game – at least a domestic one. Ahead of the game against Slavia Prague, the Peter Bosz team had scored 17 goals in the Europa League group stage, which is as many as Werder Bremen in 2009 and Eintracht Frankfurt in 2019. No other German team has scored more in the history of this competition (since 2008) – until Leon Bailey netted the opening goal for Leverkusen on Thursday night. […] In the end, there was one goal missing to equal the all-time Europa League record. Napoli with Gonzalo Higuain, José Callejon and Dries Mertens scored 22 goals in the group stage under Maurizio Sarri in 2015/16. At the end of the day, anything but an unachievable target for Leverkusen when you remember that Bayer 04 had goals ruled out for apparent offside both in the 3-2 win against Nice and also against Slavia Prague this Thursday."
Bayer 04 are away to FC Copenhagen on the first matchday of the league phase in the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League. The game against the Danish record champions is on Thursday, 18 September (kick-off: 18:45 CEST) at the Parken Stadium. Ahead of the match, here are some travel tips from Bayer 04 partner weloveholidays for all travelling fans of the Werkself.
Show moreTickets are now on open sale for two more Bundesliga home games for the Bayer 04 Women. Every Werkself fan can now buy tickets for the matches at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium against runners-up VfL Wolfsburg and promoted club Hamburg SV. The latest information at a glance.
Show moreThe first fixture in the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League campaign: The Werkself are away to Danish record champions FC Copenhagen in the new season of Europe’s premiere club competition. The match is on Thursday, 18 September (kick-off: 18:45 CEST) at the Parken Stadium. The Bayer 04 Fan Liaison team brings you the latest information ahead of the game…
Show moreWerkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 3-2 win against 1. FC Union Berlin on the 2nd matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2025/26...
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