The final UEFA Nations League matches of the year have been played: The Czech Republic with Patrik Schick and Adam Hlozek faced Switzerland. While neither of the teams could climb above Spain and Portugal to the top of Group 2 in League A this game was about avoiding relegation to League B. Schick and Co. needed a win against Switzerland to overtake them – but they had to settle for a 2-1 defeat in the end. The Swiss went ahead with a double strike (29’, 30’) and the reply from Schick just before half-time was not enough in the race to stay in League A. The centre-forward played the full game and Hlozek remained on the bench.
Finland with goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky also ended their Nations League games on foreign soil: The Werkself captain, who led out the Eagle Owls as usual, was more successful with his fellow countryman in Montenegro than his Czech teammates. On matchday six in Group 3 in League B, Hradecky and Co. won 2-0 with a brace after the restart to replace Montenegro in second place.
Edmond Tapsoba with Burkina Faso and Odilon Kossounou with the Ivory Coast ended the international break with friendly fixtures. Tapsoba and Co. beat Comoros 2-1 with the Bayer 04 defender playing the full 90 minutes in his international appearance number 31. Kossounou did not play in the 3-1 win for the Ivory Coast against Guinea.
Sardar Azmoun and his fellow Iranian countrymen played Senegal in a friendly in Austria. Senegal took the lead on 55 minutes. The Bayer 04 forward came off the bench four minutes later and Azmoun levelled the scores at 1-1 five minutes after that.
The friendly between Japan and Ecuador ended goalless. Werkself defender Piero Hincapie played the whole game at the Merkur Spiel Arena in Düsseldorf.
The Netherlands U21 team with Jeremie Frimpong and Mitchel Bakker in the starting line-up only managed a 0-0 draw against Romania. Both Leverkusen players were on for the first half.
Zidan Sertdemir and the Denmark U19s lost 4-2 to England in the Euro qualifiers. The Werkself player went off at half-time with the score at 0-0. Denmark are second in Group 9 behind England.
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The fourth showdown in the VBL Club Championship 2025/26 starts for the Leverkusen eSports team today, Thursday 22 January (live on the B04eSports Twitch channel and on the Bayer 04 app from 19:00 CET). In the online preliminary round, the Black and Reds will once again compete with six previously drawn opponents for a place in the Top 16 and the associated entry into the offline knockout round in Berlin on 2 February at the fourth showdown. The lowdown on our next three opponents in the online preliminary round.
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The fourth European away trip of the season in the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 takes the Werkself to the Greek capital. Head coach Kasper Hjulmand's team are away to Greek double winners Olympiacos on matchday seven in the UCL league phase. The match at the Karaiskakis Stadium is on Tuesday, 20 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET). We'll be taking you on a trip to Athens and reporting on the Werkself close-up...
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A great honour for Bayer 04 Women's German international: as part of the 2025 Sports Awards, Carlotta Wamser entered her name into the City of Leverkusen's Golden Book. On Tuesday, she looked back on a special year in a talk in the Morsbroich Castle hall of mirrors.
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It was a disappointing night in Athens: The Werkself lost 2-0 away to Olympiacos on Matchday 7 in the league phase of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League campaign. In a match that was intense and fiery from the outset, the high-pressing home side made the better start and took the lead through Costinha on two minutes. Although the Werkself had a number of chances to equalise, the clinical Greek side increased the lead to 2-0 shortly before half-time (45+1’). In the second half, Leverkusen once again gave their all and showed total commitment but, despite their best efforts, the Black and Reds were unable to break down the Olympiacos defence on the night.
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