Schwaab sees red in 3-2 defeat (2010)
Shortly after the restart in the game at Eintracht Frankfurt, Stefan Kießling – with his second goal of the game – turned the game round to give Bayer 04 a 2-1 lead (46'). However, Frankfurt's Caio equalised (62') and Maik Franz scored late on with an overhead kick to put Eintracht 3-2 up (89'). To cap it all, the Werkself player Daniel Schwaab was shown the red card in this game.
Vidal secures victory (2011)
On matchday 31 in the 2010/11 season, the Black and Reds entertained TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. The visitors made the better start and went ahead through Gylfi Sigurdsson just before the half-hour mark (28'). Michael Kadlec equalised (40') before Arturo Vidal netted the winner in the second half (55'). The three points from this game put Bayer 04 second in the Bundesliga. That's the position the Werkself finished in at the end of the season.
A win at Fortuna (2013)
In front of over 50,000 fans in Düsseldorf, the Werkself were in good form as they beat Fortuna 4-1. The goals on that Easter Saturday was scored by Stefan Kießling and André Schürrle – both bagged a brace.
Spahic and Co. find back of the net (2014)
Easter Sunday in 2014 undoubtedly belonged to Bayer 04 defenders. Central defender Emir Spahic scored twice against FC Nürnberg with left back Sebastian Boenisch and substitute defender Roberto Hilbert also getting on the scoresheet – final score: 4-1. "Strong in challenges, solid build-up play, clinical finishing – a central defender cannot play better," said Kicker back then in summing up the performance of Spahic.
Two-goal tally for Kies and Castro (2015)
On Holy Saturday in 2015, the two goalscorers stood out that afternoon: In front of a sold-out BayArena, Gonzalo Castro and Stefan Kießling, who else could it be, both scored twice. The Werkself under coach Roger Schmidt clocked up a convincing 4-0 victory against Hamburg SV who had a caretaker coach in the dugout in the shape of Peter Knäbel.
Two goalless draws (2017 & 2018)
The result was the same but control of the game was very one-sided in both cases. While the Werkself under Tayfun Korkut had to survive a number of tricky moments against FC Bayern in 2017, Volland and Co. clocked up a shots on goal comparison of 18 to 7 against FC Augsburg a year later with a number of excellent chances missed.
Last home win at Easter (2019)
Easter Saturday at the BayArena last year produced a Black and Red fest. In summer-like temperatures, the Werkself repeated the victory of 2014 against FC Nürnberg. Final score: 2-0 (goalscorers: Kevin Volland and Lucas Alario). The home win was part of an impressive end to the season for Bayer 04 with the team under head coach Peter Bosz finishing up fourth in the table – thus qualifying for the Champions League.
No Easter game in the 2020s
The clash with Nürnberg remains the last on an Easter weekend for two years. The away game at SC Freiburg has been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Overview of Easter matches:
2010 – 3-2 at Eintracht Frankfurt
2011 – 2-1 at home to TSG 1899 Hoffenheim
2012 – 1-1 at Hamburg SV
2013 – 4-1 at Fortuna Düsseldorf
2014 – 4-1 at FC Nürnberg
2015 – 4-0 at home to Hamburg SV
2016 – No game
2017 – 0-0 at home to FC Bayern Munich
2018 – 0-0 at home to FC Augsburg
2019 – 2-0 at home to FC Nürnberg
2020 – No game due to coronavirus pandemic
The Bayer 04 U19 team lost 1-0 to Inter Milan on the sixth and final matchday in the league phase of the UEFA Youth League 2024/25. The only goal of the game was scored just after the hour mark. While the side from North Italy have finished top in the league phase with a maximum points return, the Leverkusen team appeared to have just missed out on the knockout stages of the European competition. There is faint hope looking to several games to follow where results are needed to go the way of the Werkself.
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Italian teams are known for being strong in defence. The fact that Inter Milan, the next opponents for the Werkself in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday, 10 December (kick-off: 20.45 CET), have not conceded a single goal in their last five matches is impressive. Will the visitors' keeper Yann Sommer be able to keep a clean sheet at the BayArena against Florian Wirtz and Co.? The lowdown on our next opponents.
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The Werkself are away to Borussia Dortmund on Bundesliga Matchday 16. The game at the Signal Iduna Park on Friday, 10 January 2025, kicks off at 20.30 CET. Read on for information on ticket sales.
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Two champions go head-to-head: The Werkself entertain Inter Milan at the BayArena on Matchday 6 in the UEFA Champions League. The game against the team from Lombardy is on Tuesday, 10 December (kick-off: 21.00 CET/live on DAZN and on Werkself Radio). Head coach Xabi Alonso and defender Edmond Tapsoba revealed their keen anticipation ahead of the top match against the Italian champions at the pre-match press conference. In addition, the duo talked about the strengths of the visitors and the difference from playing teams in the Bundesliga.
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The fact the team led by head coach Xabi Alonso have learned from the draws against Holstein Kiel, Werder Bremen, VfL Bochum and VfB Stuttgart was demonstrated by the 2-1 win for the Werkself against FC St. Pauli on Saturday afternoon. Thanks to the victory against Hamburg side, Bayer 04 are now unbeaten in the last eleven Bundesliga matches (six wins, five draws) – only Bayern Munich are on a longer run at the moment. All of the last three matches have ended in victory. The Werkself review.
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