“The win was deserved thanks to our hard work. Even if Frankfurt maybe had the better chances overall, we were more clinical,” said head coach Robert de Pauw. “We had some luck at times, and also an excellent goalkeeper. We played some decent football at times. Set pieces are also becoming more of an asset for us.” The Dutchman was particularly pleased by the second half: “We kept our shape and fought, fought, fought. In the end that hard work was rewarded by the second goal.”
De Pauw made one change to his team from the 0-0 draw in Essen as Caroline Siems replaced Synne Skinnes Hansen on the right, who was out with a thigh problem. The game began without any notable chances as both sides focused on safety first. Frankfurt looked to get down the wings and eventually created the first big opportunity in the 10th minute, but Friederike Repohl kept her nerve in the Werkself goal to deny Nicole Anyomi one-on-one after a through ball.
Anyomi again failed to take a chance to put the visitors ahead, knocking the ball wide after getting the better of Emilie Bragstad in a race. Straight up the other end, Karolina Lea Vilhjalmsdottir also missed an opportunity for Bayer 04, who were finding their feet in the game. Siems then saw a shot from the edge of the box saved by Stina Johannes.
With Vilhjalmsdottir unable to continue after a challenge, Bender was introduced after just 33 minutes. Barely 120 seconds later, the 18-year-old found the breakthrough when she stuck out a foot to get on the end of Kristin Kögel’s free-kick from the right to beat Johannes. It was Bender’s first Bundesliga goal and the difference up to the break.
The hosts continued to play on the front foot after the restart and Bender failed to make an attack count when caught between shooting and crossing from right of goal. Anyomi struck the left post shortly after.
De Pauw made a double change after the hour mark as Selina Ostermeier and Karczewska came on for Janou Levels and Estrella Merino Gonzalez. Moments later, Sylwia Matysik missed the chance to double the lead with a header from a Kögel corner. Almost from nowhere, Frankfurt came close to levelling when Lara Prasnikar struck the bar from range.
Paulina Bartz and Julie Jorde provided more fresh legs in the closing quarter of an hour for Matysik and Sofie Zdebel, while the Bayer 04 defence remained solid and dealt with Frankfurt’s long balls. The hard work paid off when Karczewska rounded off a counter-attack to grab a second three minutes beyond the 90.
The Werkself are back in action again next Saturday with an away game at RB Leipzig (6.30pm CEST).
Match stats:
Bayer 04: Repohl - Matysik (Bartz 76'), Bragstad, Turányi - Siems, Senß, Zdebel (Jorde 76'), Levels (Ostermeier 59') - Vilhjálmsdóttir (Bender 33'), Kögel - Merino Gonzalez (Karczewska 59')
Frankfurt: Johannes - Wolter, Doorsoun, Kleinherne, Hanshaw - Reuteler, Gräwe, Dunst (Martinez 75') - I. Acikgöz (Chiba 46') - Anyomi (D. Acikgöz 80'), Prasnikar
Goals: 1-0 Bender (36'), 2-0 Karczewska (90'+3)
Yellow cards: Turányi - I. Acikgöz
Referee: Davina Lutz
Attendance: 910 at the Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion
Werkself-TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04 Women's 0-1 loss at Bayern Munich in the round of 16 of the women's DFB-Pokal 2026/27
Show more
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 working 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 personal 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…
Show more
Having previously recorded six consecutive home wins across all competitions, Bayer 04 suffered their first home defeat of 2026/27 as they went down 4-2 to VfB Stuttgart in the Bundesliga on Matchday 8. The visitors capitalised on their first two chances to score, with Ermedin Demirovic and Jamie Leweling finding the net in the first half. Although Patrik Schick got a goal back in the first half, Bilal El Khannouss and Demirovic again added further goals for Stuttgart. Bayer 04 didn’t give up, but Ibrahim Maza’s goal proved little more than a consolation.
Show more
Fans at the BayArena got to enjoy a spectacle on Wednesday as the Werkself came from behind to beat Nürnberg 5-2 in the DFB Pokal. Now with the sixth home game of the season, can Bayer 04 maintain their perfect record in Leverkusen as VfB Stuttgart come to town in the Bundesliga on Saturday (15:30 CET)? The visitors have had issues domestically this term, sitting in 15th place, although they have had much better results in the UEFA Champions League. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the Matchday 8 encounter…
Show more
The Bayern Munich women’s football team are unbeaten in all domestic competitions in the last 62 matches. On Sunday (15:00 CET), the Bayer 04 women’s team will make their next attempt to end the holders unbeaten run in the DFB Pokal Round of 16 tie. For coach Roberto Pätzold, there are a number of factors that give the Werkself cause for optimism despite the high-calibre opposition.
Show more
