With the international players Charles Aránguiz, Leon Bailey, Julian Baumgartlinger, Aleksandar Dragovic, Kai Havertz, Lukas Hradecky, Tin Jedvaj, Jonathan Tah and Paulinho still away on holiday, Peter Bosz brought in seven U19 players Ayman Azhil, Jan Boller, Kevin Bukusu, Yannik Schlößer, Adrian Stanilewicz, Cem Türkmen and Marco Wolf for the trip to Wuppertal. The Werkself head coach fielded two different teams with each due to play 45 minutes against the team that finished sixth in the Regional League last season – every player was to have the same time on the pitch.
With new signings Kerem Demirbay and Daley Sinkgraven in the starting eleven, the Werkself looked lively from the start against WSV. Schlößer and Azhil missed chances to give the Werkself an early lead and Demirbay, fully committed to the cause, only found the inside of the post with a shot from a tight angle. It took 26 minutes until the deadlock was broken when Karim Bellarabi ended an individual run with a right-foot shot into the far corner to give the Bosz boys the first chance to celebrate in front of a crowd of 2,400. Ten minutes later, Demirbay beat three Wuppertal players before providing a pinpoint cross into the box for Kevin Volland to easily convert a chance from eight yards out. Demirbay provided a second assist just before the break – the captain Lars Bender tucked the ball into the net from a corner taken by the new Werkself number 10. Bayer 04 took a 3-0 lead into the half-time break.
With a completely different line-up – including new signing Moussa Diaby buzzing around in central midfield – the Werkself remained on top in the second half with only occasional attempted attacks by the fourth division side. In spite of a lot of good chances, the ball was only in the back of the Wuppertal net once more: The WSV keeper Niklas Lübcke parried a shot from Mitchell Weiser only for Joel Pohjanpalo to round off the scoring at 4-0 with a tap-in (74'). "I think we can be very happy with our performance – also because it was very hot today. I'm glad I scored a goal but the most important thing is that everybody remained fit after the game," said Karim Bellarabi who made his first appearance after his recent injury lay-off.
Bayer 04 (First half): Özcan, L. Bender, S. Bender, Bukusu, Sinkgraven – Onur, Demirbay – Bellarabi, Azhil, Schlößer – Volland
Bayer 04 (Second half): Lomb – Weiser, Boller, Retsos, Wendell – Türkmen, Stanilewicz – Wolf, Diaby (Azhil 83’), Pohjanpalo – Alario
Calling all Bayer 04 fans: 2024/25 home, goalkeeper and special Werkself jerseys are now available on sale. Discount on the jerseys is available online as well as from the Bayer 04 Fanwelt. It's worth being quick as the sale is only on while stocks last.
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Bayer 04 are away at Holstein Kiel for the very first time in the Bundesliga this Saturday (kick-off: 3.30pm CET). Here’s all you need to know ahead of the Matchday 23 encounter at the Holstein-Stadion in our matchday news.
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Matchday 23 sees Bayer 04 play a Bundesliga game in the state of Schleswig-Holstein for the first time. Ahead of the meeting with promoted side Holstein Kiel on Saturday 22 February (kick-off 15:30 CET), head coach Xabi Alonso spoke about experiences from the draw in the reverse fixture and his team's development since that meeting.
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Two days before the Bundestag elections, a democracy workshop initiated by Bayer 04 and organised in cooperation with the German Football League (DFL) took place on Friday 21 February at the BayArena for a class from the Leverkusen Realschule am Stadtpark. During the workshop, the young people learnt about participation in political processes and how important it is to vote when they reach the legal age.
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