The first task, though, is to put Wednesday’s 1-0 defeat to Werder Bremen behind them. “We’re pleased we can try and make up for that setback within a few days. There’s no time for great disappointment and there’s also no reason for any great frustration,” head coach Roberto Pätzold stated. Instead, he’s encouraged by performances in recent weeks: “Even though we’ve not won the last three games, we weren’t bad in any of them. But we still need to step things up a notch in all areas to create that luck we need in games again.”
Elimination to Werder followed a 3-2 loss at Eintracht Frankfurt and a 1-1 draw at home to Essen. Hoffenheim caused a huge upset during the week as they inflicted a first cup defeat on Wolfsburg for 11 years, while they’ve also won two of their three league games since the winter break. “Given the results since the break, we’re not going there as favourites. Maybe this role will suit us,” said Pätzold, before talking up the opposition: “Hoffenheim have generally been really good since the restart. Their individual quality is high in any case, but there’s also good confidence. But we have means of our own to combat that.”
The coach has called for his team to be more clinical in front of goal if they’re to get back to winning ways. “We had far more chances against both Essen and Bremen than in the first half of the season. We didn’t make enough of them,” the 45-year-old said. “Now we’re performing even better in lots of areas, creating more chances, but we’re not being clinical. We need to start rewarding ourselves more again.”
Should Bayer 04 earn their second win of the second half of the season at the Dietmar-Hopp-Stadion, they will have equalled their points tally from last season (33) with eight games still to go. That is also the club’s record total from 2020/21. “If we stay true to ourselves and keep putting in a lot of effort, we’ll win games again. Also aside from the results, we’re having a great season and deserve to be where we are,” said Pätzold. “At no point have we let the pressure of expectations drive us crazy and have realistically evaluated our situation. Setbacks after good spells are part of things. It’s exciting to see how the players deal with it.”
Pätzold takes his team to Sinsheim with the same squad as was available during the week. That means Katharina Piljic (ankle), Loreen Bender (tonsil operation), Vanessa Haim (back) and Sofia Cava Marin (cruciate ligament) are all still out.
Werkself-TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04 Women's 0-2 loss at 1. FC Nürnberg on Matchday 8 of the 2026/27 Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga.
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After nine points from their first three away matches of the 2026/27 season, the Bayer 04 Women suffered their first away defeat on Sunday afternoon. The 2-0 defeat away to FC Nürnberg, who were winless before today, represented a setback for coach Roberto Pätzold’s team in the race for the top spots in the Google Pixel Women’s Bundesliga. Fany Pronietz scored both goals (62’, 85’) for the home side.
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After six consecutive wins, the Werkself have hit a rough patch: Bayer 04 lost 3-0 away to TSG Hoffenheim. Andrej Kramaric put the hosts ahead from the penalty spot (79'), with Alexander Prass and Max Moerstedt adding to the tally shortly before full-time (89’/90+5’). After ten matches under Carles Martínez, with the Black and Reds always scoring at least twice, Leverkusen failed to find the net for the first time.
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The Werkself still have a score to settle with TSG Hoffenheim: Bayer 04 lost both matches against the Kraichgau side last term – after the Black and Reds had won all the previous five encounters. Leverkusen are currently on a roll and looking to kick off a new winning streak against TSG in Sinsheim on Sunday 25 October (kick-off: 15:30 CET), and Patrik Schick is keen to continue his current run of form. However, it will not be easy, as coach Christian Ilzer’s team have also gained confidence recently. Today’s matchday news.
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