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"It was an incredible night, which I also need to process first," reflected the Spaniard. "None of us had much sleep. We need to forget the Europa League for now, though, and focus fully on Sunday. We're in a good position in the Bundesliga. It's the last match before the international break. We absolutely want to end this block with a win," added Alonso. According to the 41-year-old, that requires above all "a lot of emotionality, just like in the European games. But first and foremost, we want to have control of the game."
Alonso is expecting a hard-fought contest against head coach Christian Streich's side, "a top team with intelligent players and a very competitive coach with a lot of experience in the club".
The Bayer 04 boss also highlighted the opponents' flexibility: "They can play in a very nice, dominant way but they can also adapt very well in difficult matches. They're strong from set pieces, too." They therefore need "to be ready for all scenarios", added the Spaniard.
There was good news on Jonas Hofmann. "The scan has shown that it's not a muscle strain. We'll see for Sunday," confirmed Alonso.
Meanwhile, patience is required with Victor Boniface. The striker is making good progress, and they want to make good use of the international break. "He's close to getting back onto the pitch," revealed Alonso. "If it goes well, he could play a part against Hoffenheim, but we have patience."
Victory over SCF would already confirm Leverkusen's participation in next season's UEFA Champions League. Alonso is ambitious: "We already said in the summer that we had this goal. Now we can realise that and we want to achieve it on Sunday."
The Werkself will be supported in this task by 3,400 travelling fans in Freiburg. Just like recent away matches, the away section is again sold out.
Four Bayer 04 players are in action at the 35th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations being played in Morocco from 21 December to 18 January 2026: Eliesse Ben Seghir for the hosts, Edmond Tapsoba with Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Maza for Algeria and Christian Kofane with Cameroon. Updates on the AFCON matches involving Werkself players...
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Bayer 04 Women finish 2025 with the first game of the second half of the Google Pixel Bundesliga season as they host defending champions and league leaders Bayern Munich at the Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion on Monday. Kick-off is at 18:00 CET. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the Matchday 14 encounter.
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The Werkself may have the festive season off, but four players will still be in action as they compete at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations. Eliesse Ben Seghir will open the 35th edition of the tournament with hosts Morocco on Sunday, 21 December. Edmond Tapsoba (Burkina Faso), Ibrahim Maza (Algeria) and Christian Kofane (Cameroon) are also going for continental glory.
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The media wanted to know if Malik Tillman had thought back in September and the team’s indifferent start to the season that they would go into the winter break in third place with 29 points from 15 games. His answer was short and clear: “Honestly, yes, because I simply believe in this team.” That team had just won 3-1 at RB Leipzig, who hadn’t dropped a single point at home previously this season. Here’s all the round-up from the game in our Werkself Review.
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