Women end first part of preseason with 1-0 win against Ajax

"We are primarily happy to have concluded the first part of the preseason with a win even though it was hard work today. We found it difficult to put the opponents under pressure at the start but then we created more and more chances on goal over time and we improved," said coach Roberto Pätzold who celebrates his 46th birthday today: "Our aim was to achieve the physical basis for a long season in the first weeks of the preseason and we've succeeded in doing that. There's still room for improvement in our play going forwards."

As at the start of the preseason, the two players in Euro 2025 Cornelia Kramer and Carlotta Wamser were missing as were summer signing Valentina Mädl (Achilles problem), Charlotte Voll (rehab training after an ankle injury), Caroline Kehrer (torn meniscus) and Shen Menglu (torn cruciate). Also unavailable were Ida Daedelow, Vanessa Haim, Anne Moll, Selina Ostermeier, Katharina Piljic, Juliette Vidal and Amy Wrigge – the latter together with Louisa Remien and Paula Schwartze has joined the first-team squad - who is ruled out due to a knock. Three youth players were added to the squad as were two guest players Tinatin Ambalia (Georgia) and Anna Gliszczyńska (Poland).

no goals in first third

With summer temperatures around 26 degrees there was initially little action. Neither of the two sides dominated the game with most of the action in midfield resulting in no decent chances on goal. On 19 minutes, Paulina Bartz came on for guest player Ambalia and the first third of the game ended goalless.

The Werkself created the first chance at the beginning of the second third: Bartz broke down the right flank and fed Kristin Kögel whose low shot ended up in the hands of the Ajax keeper Nienhuis. The Black and Reds increasingly had more the game and pushed the Dutch side back into their own half. The first goal was in the air: A header from defender Claudia Wenger (42') from a Kögel free kick lacked the necessary power and Nienhuis was able to save a firm shot from Grant (46’). At the other end, Friederike Repohl had no problems dealing with the first effort from the top-flight Dutch side (54’). However, the first goal did not come in the second third either.

Fudalla score again

As with last week, it was Fudalla who scored the first goal for the Werkself. The 23-year-old converted a pass from Loreen Bender on the edge of the six-yard box with a placed low shot into the far corner (67') – the second goal in the third friendly for the summer signing. During the final third, Pätzold rang the changes with all the players in the squad getting minutes on the pitch with the exception of Remien and Schwartze. The Werkself held on to the 1-0 lead to the end to finally celebrate a deserved friendly win.

outlook: two-week break

All will be quiet at Kurtekotten from 20 July to 3 August. The Leverkusen Women have a 14-day break before the start of the second part of the preseason. Then there will be four more friendlies, the season opener as well as the training camp in the Rieden in Bavaria from 17 to 23 August. The Bundesliga season 2025/26 begins for the Bayer 04 Women on Saturday, 6 September (17:45 CEST) with the official opening fixture away to Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena.

The full summer timetable for the Women is HERE.

Match stats:

Bayer 04 Women: Repohl – Merino Gonzalez, Wenger (Turanyi 60'), Turanyi (Friedrich 30'), Mickenhagen (Lindner 60') – Grant, Zdebel (Heltemes 75') – Ambalia (Bartz 19'), Kögel (Fudalla 60') – Bender (Ambalia 79'), Fudalla (Gliszczyńska 30'/Sinani 60')

Ajax starting XI: Nienhuis – Noordermeer, van de Velde, Tolheok, Smits, Noordman, Dostmohamed, Colin, Keukelaar, van Schoonhoven

Goals: 1-0 Fudalla (67’)

Referee: Daniela Nohl (Hennef)

Attendance: 110 at the Kurtekotten Performance Centre