Back
4.03.2025Werkself-TV

Alonso ahead of #FCBB04: ‘Be competitive and get a good result'

Anticipation continually mounts with Bayer 04 back in Champions League action after just over a month. And this round brings the German versus German clash against FC Bayern. Ahead of the first leg in Munich on Wednesday, 5 March (kick-off: 21:00 CET), head coach Xabi Alonso and Granit Xhaka talked about the approach to the first Champions League meeting with the record champions.

Display videos

Yes, I'd like to see videos dispalyed.

Two Bundesliga games without a win (1-1, 0-0) plus the 1-0 win for the Werkself in Munich in the DFB Pokal Round of 16: Bayer 04 and FC Bayern face each other for the fourth time this season on Wednesday night. Is the position in the Champions League different than in the previous matches on the domestic front? "Even if every game in the Champions League it's very special it is the same 90 minutes in the first and second legs in the end, perhaps a bit longer in the second leg, where we have to be very smart and achieve the maximum possible," said Granit Xhaka at the press conference in the Stadium in Munich on Tuesday night..

The Werkself have now gone six games without defeat against FC Bayern across competitions and there has never been a defeat in a clash with the record champions under Alonso. Asked about a possible "secret recipe", the Spaniard said: "There is no secret. The last games against Bayern don't mean anything to us for tomorrow, they don't bring us anything. We only look at the next game and we want to prepare as best as possible."

Xhaka: "In every game as if it were the last"

Like Xhaka and Robert Andrich (flu) who did not travel to Munich, Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong and Aleix Garcia go into the first leg on a booking. Midfield maestro Xhaka responded to a question on that: "I don't really think about that with the many games and the experience I've got now." The 32-year-old added: "Of course, we will do all we can to avoid a yellow card but it's about getting a good result. We'll give our all. We go into every game as if it were the last."

Granit Xhaka

Alonso: "prepared for a tough battle"

Talking about the approach to the all Germany clash in the Champions League, Alonso said, with Edmond Tapsoba available again for the game in Munich: "We’re prepared for a tough battle, we want to be competitive and get a result."

away end sold out – DAZN broadcasts live

4,000 Bayer 04 fans will support the Werkself in Munich with the allocation for the away end taken up completely. The match will be shown live on DAZN and Werkself Radio will again be broadcasting live from the stadium from 30 minutes before kick-off.

Related News

Women: TV-highlights of 3-2 win against Werder Bremen
Werkself-TV - 02.10.2026

Women: TV-highlights of 3-2 win against Werder Bremen

Werkself-TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04 Women's 3-2 win against Werder Bremen on Matchday 6 of the 2026/27 Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga.

Show more
Kramer bejubelt ihren Treffer
Women - 02.10.2026

Bayer 04 Women seal late 3-2 win against Werder Bremen

Thanks to a thrilling second-half comeback, the Bayer 04 women’s team secured their first home win this term. Against Werder Bremen, the Werkself stepped up their game significantly after the break and turned a two-goal deficit into a 3–2 win. Cornelia Kramer (54’, 56’) and Lobke Loonen (81’) scored the goals that earned coach Roberto Pätzold’s team their first points at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium in the current Bundesliga season.

Show more
Nathan Tella und Martin Terrier
Bayer 04 - 02.10.2026

6–0 against Fortuna Köln – Werkself win friendly against third-division side

A commanding performance: In a friendly during the international break, Bayer 04 defeated third-division newcomers SC Fortuna Köln 6–0. Martin Terrier and Patrik Schick scored twice each with Nathan Tella and Miguel Gutiérrez netting the other goals for Leverkusen. Due to preparations at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium for tonight’s Bayer 04 women’s Bundesliga home game against Werder Bremen (kick-off: 18:30 CEST), the fixture against the Cologne side was played at the Werkself training ground.

Show more
Fernando Carro bei der EFC-Generalversammlung
Bayer 04 - 01.10.2026

Greater say, higher revenues: Carro and Rolfes at the EFC General Meeting

Whenever the leading figures in European club football come together, Bayer 04 are right in the thick of it: At the 33rd General Assembly of the European Football Clubs (EFC) in Copenhagen, Fernando Carro, CEO, and Simon Rolfes, Managing Director Sport, discussed key sporting and economic issues for the future.

Show more