Bayer 04 Women end season with chance to play “freely and bravely” at Wolfsburg

“We’re obviously taking the game seriously. Wolfsburg and Frankfurt are still competing to qualify for the Champions League. We also want to end our great season on a high,” Pätzold said. Leverkusen boast 43 points and 13 wins for their best return in 15 years in the Bundesliga. “We’ve not got the pressure that Wolfsburg maybe feel, so we want to play freely and bravely. You can also celebrate the end of the season better after a good result,” the coach added. The team and backroom staff will spend the evening in Wolfsburg after the game to enjoy a successful season together.

Pätzold: “Make a little statement”

Fourth place means the Werkself have already achieved the goal they set out at the start of the season. “We wanted to cut the gap to the top teams. We’ve achieved that both in terms of points and our head-to-head encounters,” Pätzold stated. “We want to underline that one more time and make a little statement heading into the next season. Don’t just think we’ll manage this for only one season. We want to remain competitive at a high level, so we’re up for this and want our first-ever win in Wolfsburg, having beaten them at home in the reverse fixture.” Leverkusen’s 1-0 win in that game in December even took them top of the table for a night.

The fact that only 17 points have come in the second half of the season compared to 26 in the first is seen as a push for the future by Pätzold. “We had some tight games where we actually had more chances than in the first half of the season, where we’d ended up winning narrowly. We also had to deal with some absences in the second half of the season. This also gives us a mandate for the new season to be even better prepared for such situations.”

Even though Wolfsburg currently only have five points more to their name, Pätzold points to the great reputation of their opponents. “Looking at their list of senior internationals compared to us says a lot. What the club has continuously achieved over the last few years is impressive. We’ve now almost achieved that in a season, although there have still been some fluctuations. They are also in different spheres economically,” said the 45-year-old, who also emphasised, “With our resources and our way of playing football, we have found solutions to be competitive.”

Kehrer and Voll out

While Paulina Bartz is back after illness, two other teammates are missing long-term after Caroline Kehrer suffered a torn meniscus in her right knee and Charlotte Voll tore the syndesmosis in her right foot. Kristin Kögel (ill), Vanessa Haim (muscular), Shen Menglu and Sofia Cava Marin (both cruciate ligament) are also out.