
The Kölnische Rundschau reports a "huge step" in the direction of the next round and assesses the clash with Be’er Sheva as "one-sided" in favour of the Werkself. Furthermore: "Leverkusen took hold of the reins and forced their game on the defensive Israelis."
The Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger reports a "job done." The 90 minutes at the BayArena were "chilly and tough.". The performances of the captain Jonathan Tah and starting eleven returnee Patrik Schick were rated 2.5, Leon Bailey was able to enjoy getting a 2 – the best assessment of the night.
The headline in the Bild Zeitung reads: "Bayer almost through", the Round of 32 "as good as achieved." Looking at the goal scored by Schick, who has been sidelined for several weeks due to injury, the tabloid opts for these words: "All is SCHICK in the Europa League too!"

The Werkself goals? Comments include "beautifully worked," a "great free kick" – and "a goal for Diego.” After coming on as a substitute, Lucas Alario rounded off the scoring at 4-1. Before kick-off, the centre forward warmed up in a top with a number 10 and the name Maradona on it in memory of the Argentinian football legend Diego Maradona who passed away on Wednesday at the age of 60.
The Rheinische Post starts its reporting with a look at the Black and Red injury list. "Even without seven first-team players, the team under coach Peter Bosz cleared the hurdle without any problems." The Werkself now have "one foot in the Round of 32." The newspaper uses the adjectives "easy", "commanding", "dominant" and "one-sided" to describe the third win in the fourth group match for Bayer 04.

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.
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Kasper Hjulmand has led the Werkself back to winning ways and is back in the knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League with Bayer 04 after the 3-0 win against Villarreal on Wednesday evening. In an interview with the Werkself magazine at the BayArena in the team meeting room, directly opposite the dressing room, he provided some special insights for the current issue, which was published in January. A conversation with the 53-year-old coach about values, attitudes and personal experiences as well as interests outside of football.
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The thrilling 3-1 win for Bayer 04 against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Hinrunde is a fond memory for Alejandro Grimaldo, with his brace from free kicks, and coach Kasper Hjulmand, who was in the dugout under the Cross for the first time. Now comes the return fixture in the metropolis on the River Main and after going out of the DFB Pokal and the Champions League, the full focus at Eintracht, currently managed by two interim coaches, is now on the Bundesliga. For their part, the Werkself will do everything in their power to continue the longest winning run against a Bundesliga club. The matchday news.
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Bayer 04 have ended Artem Stepanov’s loan deal at Nürnberg and agreed a new loan to Utrecht in the Netherlands. The Ukrainian striker did not play as much as hoped for at the Bundesliga 2 club and will now continue his development in the Eredivisie for the rest of 2025/26.
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The draw for the knockout play-offs of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League was made on Friday, 30 January and saw Bayer 04 paired with Olympiacos. It’s a reunion with the Greek side following the Werkself’s 2-0 loss in Athens on Matchday 7 of the league phase.
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