“Despite losing, we were a worthy opponent for the majority of the game, made life very tough for Bayern and didn’t look overawed by the big crowd. For large parts of the game we did exactly what we wanted to do,” said Roberto Pätzold looking back on the 2-0 loss to champions Bayern Munich in front of over 57,000 spectators. “We can be proud of how evenly we contested the match. We were ultimately undone by not taking our chances and sort of running out of steam towards the end.”
The 46-year-old coach added that he has a clear expectation of his team when it comes to facing ambitious promoted side Union: “We want to be dominant in our first outing at home, and obviously not end up empty-handed this time. If we manage to play the way we did against Bayern for 90 minutes, any team will struggle against us.”
However, Bayer 04’s opponents to close out Matchday 2 are “not a normal promoted team”. Union have enjoyed a rapid rise, with back-to-back promotions and winning the Bundesliga 2 title last season. “They’ve strengthened with a lot of quality from the Bundesliga. We expect them to come here full of confidence,” Pätzold explained of the Berliners, who invested heavily in their squad with the signings like Sophie Weidauer from Werder Bremen and Eintracht Frankfurt duo Tanja Pawollek and Anna Aehling. Union drew their Bundesliga debut 1-1 against Nürnberg in front of a crowd of 11,000 at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei.
Union are one of three promoted clubs this season, joining Hamburg and the aforementioned Nürnberg in the newly expanded 14-team Bundesliga. All three come with huge support and play their home games in their main bigger stadium, with Pätzold now expecting a “more evenly balanced league”. He’s also pleased that Berlin now has a top-flight team, given “the capital has long been missing from the women’s football map in Germany”.
Leverkusen remain without Selina Ostermeier, Amy Wrigge (both muscular), Caroline Kehrer (fitness training) and long-term absentee Shen Menglu (cruciate ligament). Whether Loreen Bender will return after missing the Bayern game is up in the air.
Bayer 04 have fond memories of their encounters with Heidenheim, including a resounding 6-0 win in the reverse fixture. Kasper Hjulmand’s side would very much like to produce a similarly clinical display as they now head to the Voith-Arena for Matchday 27 on Saturday (15:30 CET). But they come up against a team fighting for their Bundesliga lives at the bottom of the table, 10 points adrift of safety with time running out. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game in our matchday news.
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The Bayer 04 Women welcome FC Carl Zeiss Jena to the Ulrich Haberland Stadium on Sunday night in a white retro look - and in a unique Bayer 04 ‘50 Years of Fan Clubs’ special edition jersey. In sporting terms, head coach Roberto Pätzold's team will face the Bundesliga's bottom team at 18:30 CET looking to keep their chances of third place in the table alive with six games left to play.
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Bayer 04 return to Bundesliga action this weekend. Following their elimination in the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League, the Werkself are away to FC Heidenheim 1846 on Saturday, 21 March (kick-off: 15:30 CET) on Bundesliga matchday 27. Ahead of the clash in the eastern Swabian Alps, head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about the importance of the fixture and the chances of qualifying for the Champions League next term.
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A quick look at the table shows the situation at FC Heidenheim is serious. The Bundesliga bottom club are already ten points behind the play-off spot with their backs to the wall in sporting terms. With eight games left to play, avoiding relegation appears to be a mission impossible. Nevertheless, they are far from flying the white flag at the Schlossberg ahead of the clash with the Werkself this Saturday, 21 March (kick-off: 15:30 CET). The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen will have to manage without the two strikers in the immediate future. Caroline Kehrer suffered a torn ligament in her right knee and Amy Wrigge tore her cruciate ligament.
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