The 6- to 14-year-olds took their places on the edge of the pitch at the BayArena wide-eyed and full of questions. There was great excitement when Karim Bellarabi opened the door to the inside of the stadium. The popularity of the career of the offensive player amongst the youngsters was clear from one of the first questions: "Bellarabi, how do you become a football player?"
In addition, the Leverkusen crowd favourite revealed that his current squad number 38 was the same in his professional debut for Eintracht Braunschweig and that he scored his first Bundesliga goal for the Black and Reds in a home game against Bayern Munich. Another very special moment was the sound of the Champions League anthem before the start of matches in Europe’s premier club competition.
After the thirst for knowledge of the young players had been sated and autographs made on shirts, boots and drinking bottles, Bellarabi signed off with a group selfie with the enthusiastic children and teenagers at the Bayer 04 soccer school.
For a long time, it looked like Bayer 04 would claim their first Bundesliga victory of the season, but the Werkself were frustrated after the final whistle. The 3-3 draw away at Werder Bremen left the players with long faces and disappointed reactions. The Werkself review
Show moreBayer 04 are still without a win in the Bundesliga after two games following a 3-3 draw away at Werder Bremen. Leverkusen had gone 2-0 up through Patrik Schick and Malik Tillman, before Romano Schmid’s penalty prior to half-time. Schick’s own spot-kick restored the two-goal advantage in the second half as Werder were reduced to 10 men, but Isaac Schmidt got the hosts back into it again before Karim Coulibaly’s added-time equaliser.
Show moreUEFA have confirmed the fixture list for the league phase of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League.
Show moreBayer 04 make their second attempt at picking up their first three points of this Bundesliga season as they visit Werder Bremen on Saturday. The hosts may be struggling with injuries and reeling from back-to-back defeats to kick off the campaign, but they’ll want to put that right in their first home outing. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the match, which kicks off at 3.30pm CEST.
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