Bundesliga record for the Werkself: Women celebrate 14th win of the season in Essen

Pätzold fielded the same starting XI as in the 4-1  home win against SC Freiburg. There were two new faces on the bench who had previously been missing for a long time due to injury: Captain Friederike Repohl returned to the squad for the first time since suffering a partial tear of her medial ligament at the beginning of February, while defender Shen Menglu was back in the squad for the first time since the 6-0 win against Werder Bremen in March 2025, when she suffered a torn cruciate.

flying start thanks to Bender

The Werkself got off to a flying start. From a corner kick, Kögel crossed and found Bender who headed home her fifth goal of the season (4'). With the lead behind them, the visitors clearly dominated the game, and nine minutes later Bender missed the target after a move by striker Vanessa Fudalla. Bender failed to make it 2-0 from a tight angle in a one-on-one with goalkeeper Kim Sindermann. And two minutes later, Fudalla herself put the ball just wide of the post from the left.

Offensively, only one team remained in control. After a Essen lost possession, Bender ran through on Sindermann and hit the side netting (25'), after which the scorer of the opener struck the post with a free-kick from a tight angle from the left (29'). At the other end, it took until the 40th minute before the Werkself keeper Rafaela Borggräfe was called into action for the first time when Jacqueline Meißner finished off a counter-attack. The Bayer 04 Women were rewarded for their superiority on the counter-attack. SGS were unable to decisively clear a long ball in the six-yard box, Kramer got her head to the ball and Kögel took advantage of the confusion in defence to slot it into the empty net from close range (41'). The team went into half-time with the scoreline at 2-0.

leisurely Start to second half

Essen made three changes at the start of the second half, but this initially did little to change the flow of the game. Leverkusen took it a little easier, but still controlled proceedings effortlessly. It was the 100 or so visiting fans who caused a stir during this phase, supporting their team loudly throughout the entire 90 minutes. Although the visitors conceded a few shots from the relegation-threatened SGS, they did not pose any danger. Instead, the Werkself increased the lead to 3-0 with their first real chance in the second half. Sofie Zdebel found the advancing Kögel with a pass into the centre of the defence, who kept her cool in front of Sindermann to score her first brace of the season (68'). Pätzold made his first substitution immediately afterwards, with Fudalla being replaced by Vanessa Haim.

A little later, Lilla Turanyi (for Claudia Wenger) and Ruby Grant (for Kögel) also came off the bench. The Bayer 04 Women managed their clear lead without taking any risks, and Essen failed to make any decisive offensive impact in the final phase of the match. Ten minutes before the end, substitute Haim missed the fourth goal after preparatory work by Carlotta Wamser. Two minutes before the final whistle, Menglu also made her long-awaited comeback after more than a year out injured. Immediately afterwards, Kramer added the wonderful finishing touch: The Denmark international hit a free-kick into the right-hand corner of the net (88'). Her second goal of the season made the final score 4-0 to the Werkself.

next up: last away game in Leipzig

In eight days' time, Leverkusen play their next and final away game of the season. At the end of the matchday 25, Pätzold's team visit RB Leipzig on Monday, 11 May (18:00 CEST).

Match stats:

SGS Essen: Sindermann - L. Ostermeier, Debitzki (Bäcker 46’), Fürst - Sterner (Berentzen 74’), Platner (Terlinden 46’), Kowalski, Flach - Meißner (Maier 46’), Köpp, Touon (Potsi 74’)

Bayer 04: Borggräfe - Merino Gonzalez, Wenger (Turanyi 74’), S. Ostermeier, Wamser - Piljic (Shen 88’), Zdebel - Bender (Mädl 88’), Kögel (Grant 74’)- Fudalla (Haim 69’), Kramer

Goals: 0-1 Bender (4'), 0-2 Kögel (41'), 0-3 Kögel (68'), 0-4 Kramer (88')

Yellow card: Terlinden

Referee: Davina Lutz (Poppenhausen)

Attendance: 1,614 at the Stadion an der Hafenstraße