"Until the start of this week, we didn't talk much about the Youth League," stressed Runge. "We wanted to focus completely on our day-to-day work in the league and DFB Cup. But after the win in the cup at Dortmund and the draw at Mönchengladbach - two very important games for us - we're now heading into the new competition full of anticipation."
The Spaniard continued: "We gave the boys some general information on the Youth League for the first time at the start of the week. Even though a lot of stuff on the outside is different - different kits, different balls, bigger crowds, trips abroad - at the end of the day it's still 11 against 11. And the last two matches I mentioned were at Youth League level from both sides, so we're ready for Feyenoord."
Of course, Runge also knows that Feyenoord, AC Milan or even FC Salzburg are among the best clubs in the Youth League year after year. There's also the age difference: while players born in 2005 and younger are eligible for this season's Youth League, Leverkusen's squad is largely made up of players from the 2007 age group. "We've explained these circumstances to the boys once now, but we won't mention it again," Runge explained. "We certainly won't use it as an excuse for anything."
Runge wants to focus more on the positive of the European youth competition. "We can look forward to new, intercultural experiences," he said. "These kinds of games and also the travelling abroad will help the players massively in their development at this age." On the injury front, the Leverkusen coach is without Andrea Natali, Emmanuel Owen, Julien Kurowski and Larson Ferati, while Bradley Ndi is a doubt.
Bayer 04's first fixture in the 2024/25 Youth league will be streamed live on bayer04.de, in the Bayer 04 app and on Werkself-TV (commentary in German). Build-up begins 10 minutes before kick-off at 13:50 CEST.
In the Youth League, Matchdays 7 and 8 of the UEFA Champions League, which take place in the new year, will not be replicated. That means only the first six matchdays are played in the youth competition. Following the league phase, the Champions League path and the so-called Domestic Champions path, in which all European national champions compete, will be combined in the knockout phase. From there on, the opponents in the Youth League will be determined by results and not by the Champions League draw, as is the case with the league phase.
Matchday 1:
Thursday 19/09, 14:00
Feyenoord vs. Bayer 04
Matchday 2:
Tuesday 01/10, 14:00
Bayer 04 vs. AC Milan
Matchday 3:
Wednesday 23/10, 11:00
Stade Brest vs. Bayer 04
*Scheduling changes possible
Matchday 4:
Tuesday 05/11, 15:00
Liverpool vs. Bayer 04
Matchday 5:
Tuesday 26/11, 14:00
Bayer 04 vs. FC Salzburg
Matchday 6:
Tuesday 10/12, 14:00
Bayer 04 vs. Inter Milan
Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 1-2 loss against VfL Wolfsburg on the 2nd matchday of the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga 2026/27.
Show more
Bayer 04’s eight opponents in the group stage of the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League have been confirmed. At the draw on Friday 28 August held at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco, the Werkself were drawn against two opponents from each of the four pots. There are a total of four home and four away matches. Read on for details of opponents and fixture dates.
Show more
In the 3-2 defeat at Bundesliga newcomers SV 07 Elversberg, the Werkself found the back of the net in the closing stages and, with a bit of luck, could still have equalised. “Today, our play wasn’t good enough, particularly when it came to the basics,” said head coach Carles Martínez. Like the boss, Ibrahim Maza also wants to learn from the match and look ahead: “Next week, people should be able to see from the very first minute that we want it more than our opponents.” The Werkself review on the Bundesliga opener in 2026/27.
Show more
Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 2-3 loss at SV 07 Elversberg on Matchday 1 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season...
Show more
No points to start the league campaign: Bayer 04 lost 3-2 away to newly promoted SV 07 Elversberg in the first Bundesliga match of the 2026/27 campaign. Two quick-fire goals from Lukas Petkov (8’) and Cole Campbell (10’) gave the hosts an early lead, before David Mokwa scored the Saarland side’s third shortly after half-time (46’). In the closing stages, the Werkself rallied and staged a late comeback with goals from Patrik Schick (77’) and Christian Kofane (90+1’), but the Black and Reds were denied an equaliser.
Show more
