
That means head coach Achim Feifel can count on his goalkeeping duo of Klink/Wellmann after the summer. Anna Wellmann “is very much on the right track. She’s working hard on her development. She’s shown in her previous games that we can rely on her one hundred per cent,” the 55-year-old said.
Melissa Friedrich has been sidelined with a torn cruciate since the end of November. However, Feifel is certain the 22-year-old, “will return to her original performance levels after the injury. Melissa is a very reliable player with a distinct desire to win who accepts responsibility both on and off the pitch and she totally identifies with Bayer 04 and the team.”
And Feifel is also happy the homegrown 17-year-old Pauline Machtens – at Leverkusen since 2014 – is staying at the club: “Pauline is a young, very talented player who has developed really well over the past few months and is at the start of her football career. She is tenaciously pursuing her targets and we’re convinced of her development potential. That’s why we’re so looking forward to continuing working together.”

There were celebrations among those in black and red at the RheinEnergieSTADION. On Matchday 9 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season, the Werkself beat 1. FC Köln 2-0 and registered their sixth successive win in the derby. Aleix Garcia put Bayer 04 in front after just seven minutes with a direct free kick. Leverkusen played with discipline and energy after that and didn't allow some fierce challenges to unsettle them. Patrik Schick made it 2-0 in the 86th minute, and Said El Mala's goal in stoppage time for Köln proved nothing more than consolation. Jonas Hofmann crowned the derby win with his 100th appearance for the club.
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Bayer 04 have won each of their last five competitive encounters with 1. FC Köln, and it's around seven years since their last defeat in the cathedral city. That said, the hosts are in strong form at home and will make it anything but easy for the Werkself at the RheinEnergieSTADION on Sunday afternoon (kick-off 15:30 CET). The Matchday News.
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Werkself-TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04 Women's 2-0 win against Hamburger SV on Matchday 9 of the 2026/27 Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga.
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1. FC Köln host Bayer 04 on Sunday 8 November (kick-off 15:30 CET) in the 75th Bundesliga derby between the Rhineland neighbours. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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