Two of the four flights landed at Alicante airport at eight in the morning and the late comers arrived at the team hotel at 11 o'clock. They were greeted in the lobby by Julian Baumgartlinger, Jonathan Tah and Co. while Aránguiz, Bailey, Alario and Wendell 'only' had their flights to deal with, the rest of the Werkself players had been busy in the hotel gym. The fitness coaches had organised a strength and stabilisation session in the morning. The players worked in the gym in two groups.
While most of the players were given the chance to recover after the gym session, Exequiel Palacios had his first meeting with the media. In an interview with journalists on the terrace of the La Manga Club Resort, with a view of the palms and the bay of La Manga, he patiently answered the numerous questions of the travelling members of the media. The Argentinian revealed his first impressions: "I had a great reception from the team and I'm very happy to be here – in spite of the language barrier. It was a bit much having to try remember all the names on the first day. But I really liked the communal meal and time in the rooms and it was even better in the training session." Further news will be on tomorrow on bayer04.de
The new signing showed what he could do in the first training sessions. And that drew praise from a World Cup winner: "You can see straight away he has very quick speed of execution and good orientation on the pitch," said sporting managing director Rudi Völler about Palacios who is now just known as 'Pala' by his team-mates. "It's good to have top players like that – particularly when you're in three competitions."
In the afternoon, the ball was centre of attention. The focus in the second training session the day, on the pitch at La Manga at 16.00 CET, was on the shooting, challenges and positional play. While Bailey, Alario and Wendell were able to get fully involved after the warm-up, Aránguiz had to drop out as the Chilean was suffering with muscular problems. Karim Bellarabi is doing better today. The 29-year-old was suffering from tonsillitis yesterday but was able to take part in training again today.
The Bender twins know how each other play on the pitch but with 'Who am I?' it was Sven Bender who was barking up the wrong tree. In the new YouTube format, two players have to guess, with the help of ingenious questions, the character defined for each other. The Bender brothers were first up and they can be seen on the Bayer 04 YouTube channel.
Werkself-TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04 Women's 2-1 win at SC Freiburg on Matchday 5 of the 2026/27 Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga.
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Calling Bayer 04 families – this matchday is all yours! As part of the Family Matchday on Sunday 20 September, not only will the Werkself take on RB Leipzig at 15:30 CEST but there will also be a variety of activity zones for young and old alike be set up around the BayArena. What’s more, genuine Bayer 04 rarities await Black and Red fans at the Fantrödel flea market. By taking part in the fan travel survey, Leverkusen supporters can help the club gather important information and even win a jersey before the Werkself hit the ground running against Leipzig on the pitch. The matchday news for RB Leipzig game.
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It has been a mixed start to the season for RB Leipzig. The team from Saxony have a flawless record at home but are less successful on the road to date. RBL are looking to change that in their away fixture at the BayArena on Sunday, 20 September (kick-off: 15:30 CEST). However, head coach Martin Demichelis will have to manage without a number of key players. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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With a flawless away record under their belts, the Bayer 04 women’s team travel to SC Freiburg. On Sunday 20 September (16:00 CEST), coach Roberto Pätzold’s side will be aiming for three points again, six days after their narrow defeat to Bayern Munich. The Werkself have emerged victorious from both of their away fixtures so far this season.
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