In sunshine and a chilly two degrees, the Werkself Women dominated proceedings early on against the second division side but initially lacked ideas up front. The first real chance came in the eleventh minute – and it worked out brilliantly: Verena Wieder put Leverkusen 1-0 up. Bayer 04 had the clear majority of possession , always tried to find the right answer with their play and moved well when they were on the ball. However, there was a certain hesitancy in finishing in one or two situations.
On 35 minutes, Milena Nikolic played a long ball to Dóra and she doubled the lead at 2-0. And, five minutes later, the striker combined with her fellow Hungarian teammate Henrietta Csiszár to make it 3-0. Bocholt had a chance just before half-time with a shot that rolled along the bar but Anna Wellmann in goal would have made the save.
Feifel reshuffled his team for the second half by bringing on four fresh pairs of legs. And substitute Gianna Rackow carried on where her teammates had left off in the first 45 minutes. The 20-year-old exploited a mistake by the opposition keeper to score with a tap-in to put Leverkusen 4-0 up on the hour mark. Almost straight away, Csiszár had a shot into an empty net for the fifth goal.
Applause and celebration on the Leverkusen bench for Sofie Zdebel on 73 minutes. The homegrown player scored her first goal for the Bayer 04 Women with an impressive volley to put Bayer 04 6-0 ahead. Rackow rounded off the scoring at 7-0 when she put the ball through the Bocholt goalkeeper’s legs (83’)
“We wanted to dominate the game with solid possession and being constructive going forwards. We were able to build our attacks through the middle and central midfield. That worked well overall, also because the opposition gave us the opportunities,” said a happy Achim Feifel after the game but he can see the potential for improvement in converting chances: “There were a lot of clear-cut chances where we should have done better. Overall, this friendly was better than the game against Werder Bremen last week.“
In the final test before the league restart, Feifel used players who had less minutes during the first half of the season. “We’ve got a big injury list and we have to compensate for that. Every individual player has to up their game. We don’t want to relax after the first half of the season with what we’ve achieved but instead carry on being successful in the Bundesliga.
First half: Wellmann – Sahlmann, Turanyi, Vinken, Kempe, Wirtz, Wieder, Kögel, Zeller, Csiszár, Nikolic
Second half: Klink – Rackow, Matysik, Marti, Büchner, Reger, Zdebel, Garofalo, Turanyi, Wirtz, Zeller
Goals: 1-0 Wieder (11’), 2-0 Zeller (35’), 3-0 Zeller (40’), 4-0 Rackow (60’), 5-0 Csiszár (60’), 6-0 Zdebel (73’), 7-0 Rackow (83’)
Werkself-TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04 Women's 0-2 loss at 1. FC Nürnberg on Matchday 8 of the 2026/27 Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga.
Show more
After nine points from their first three away matches of the 2026/27 season, the Bayer 04 Women suffered their first away defeat on Sunday afternoon. The 2-0 defeat away to FC Nürnberg, who were winless before today, represented a setback for coach Roberto Pätzold’s team in the race for the top spots in the Google Pixel Women’s Bundesliga. Fany Pronietz scored both goals (62’, 85’) for the home side.
Show more
The Werkself still have a score to settle with TSG Hoffenheim: Bayer 04 lost both matches against the Kraichgau side last term – after the Black and Reds had won all the previous five encounters. Leverkusen are currently on a roll and looking to kick off a new winning streak against TSG in Sinsheim on Sunday 25 October (kick-off: 15:30 CET), and Patrik Schick is keen to continue his current run of form. However, it will not be easy, as coach Christian Ilzer’s team have also gained confidence recently. Today’s matchday news.
Show more
A look at the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga table ahead of the Werkself's clash at 1. FC Nürnberg leaves little discussion: Bayer 04 Women go into Sunday's meeting at the Max-Morlock-Stadion (16:00 CEST) as clear favourites. Coach Roberto Pätzold explains what's needed for the fourth-placed team against the second-from-bottom in order to make it four wins from four away matches this season.
Show more
Bayer 04 march on! On the Greek holiday island of Crete, the Werkself made it three wins from three games in the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League league phase against Greek Cup winners OFI Crete. Carles Martínez's side put on an attacking display with a total of 33 attempts, while one player in particular stood out with a brace. At the same time, they kept another clean sheet in Europe. All the reaction and analysis of the 2-0 victory in the Werkself Review.
Show more
