"In the 2-0 defeat against the Swiss champions Young Boys Bern, Leverkusen struggled to make amends for the 4-3 defeat in the first leg," is the sober analysis of the Süddeutsche Zeitung..
In the opinion of the BILD, Bayer 04 also went out because "the Swiss champions (three times in succession) are smarter, more convincing on the pitch and therefore deserved to go through."
The Rheinische Post also witnessed a similarly impressive performance from the visitors. "Skilful defending from Bern and focused pressure on the Werkself," was the analysis in the newspaper. "The Bern goalkeeper David von Ballmoos pulled off a fine reflex save to keep out Leon Bailey's shot (15')."
The EXPRESS describes the blow shortly after the restart as follows: "Elia's deflected cross stretched Lomb in the six-yard box more and more. The keeper initially caught the ball with his hands but lacked a firm grip so when he fell backwards he dropped the ball – Jordan Siebatcheu gambled and was left with a simple header into an empty net."
"Bailey could have scored a spectacular leveller," says the Frankfurter Rundschau in describing the minutes after the goal, "his back-heel from four yards out hit the Bern goalkeeper David von Ballmoos square on the chest (56')."
The ensuing efforts of Peter Bosz and his team to turn the game round is described by the Kölnische Rundschau as follows: "The coach dispensed with his back three and brought on striker Lucas Alario in place of central defender Aleksandar Dragovic." However: "It took until the 70 minutes before Alario had a chance but he put the ball wide of the target from four yards out. Three minutes later, Patrik Schick had the opportunity to equalise with a header but was denied by the Bern keeper David von Ballmoos."
The Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger states, "the perennial Swiss champions had the better plan. They closed Bayer 04 down and attacked with wild abandon. The impressive Christian Fassnacht rounded off a counter-attack to make it 2-0 on 86 minutes."
The German national team, featuring Werkself player Carlotta Wamser, agonisingly missed out on a place in the Women's EURO final. In a tense and dramatic semi-final, the DFB Team lost 1-0 after extra time against world champions Spain. The 21-year-old summer signing from Eintracht Frankfurt played the full 120 minutes, continuing her strong form at the tournament.
Show moreFor media representatives: As part of the preparations for the forthcoming 2025/26 season, all accreditation requests for Werkself home fixtures in all competitions (national and European) can only be made from now via the new online accreditation portal.
Show moreThis special event deeply affected all Bayer 04 representatives present: On the penultimate day of the Bayer 04 Brazil Tour, a selected delegation, led by CEO Fernando Carro and club legend Paulo Sergio, made their way to the ‘Instituto Bola pra Frente’. The former Werkself player Jorginho set up the welfare organisation 25 years ago in a deprived area of Rio de Janeiro, which was where he lived as a child. The Brazil World Cup winner of 1994 welcomed Bayer 04 as the first club ever to visit and he shared deep and, above all, emotional insights into his day-to-day work in the favelas.
Show moreIt's always a great pleasure to watch football crazy children being so happy pursuing their big passion. It was the same this time round when a small delegation led by Luiz Felipe, the son of Paulo Sergio and technical director of the recently opened Bayer 04 Football Academy São Paulo, visited the German School in Rio de Janeiro and held a training session as part of the Bayer 04 Brazil Tour. On the football pitch in front of the school building, 70 children had an afternoon full of fun and joy with a view of the world famous Christ the Redeemer.
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