Under the headline, 'No winners in deflection party' the BILD declares: "Leverkusen started with three corners in the first three minutes of the game. "Three corners, one spot-kick" is the word on the recreation ground. And in the Bundesliga, it's "Three corners, one goal": Bremen's Ömer Toprak (30) stuck out a leg before Sven Bender got to the ball – own goal (4'). It's the fifth own goal for Leverkusen this season. And there's a system behind that: Speaking ahead of the game against Union Berlin (2-0) in September, coach Peter Bosz said there would be six or seven own goals over the course of the season. The unlucky former Leverkusen player Toprak scored two own goals in a Bayer shirt – and now he's netted a third against his old team. And it continued to be a bizarre encounter: Dragovic deflected a shot from Rashica for the equaliser (40'). And Bremen took the lead through Davy Klaassen (48') again with Leverkusen contributing to the goal – Lars Bender slightly deflected his effort with his arm. This match was a real deflection party!"
The Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung (WAZ) witnessed a "wild game without winners in Leverkusen. Bayer Leverkusen and Bremen draw 2-2. The coaches Peter Bosz and Florian Kohfeldt embraced each other after the final whistle, their players sank exhausted to the ground. Bayer Leverkusen and Werder Bremen pushed each other all the way over 90 entertaining and exciting minutes and showed lots of commitment – but neither side could celebrate at the end."
The KICKER believes Bayer Leverkusen are "in a bit of a results crisis. The 2-2 draw against Werder Bremen, in spite of a dominant performance, was the fifth match in succession without a win. Peter Bosz takes the same view. Speaking to Sky after the drawn game, the Bayer coach said a victory should have been achieved given clearly having more chances and evident superiority: 'We had to win today. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. We also need a bit of luck in this phase.' The Werkself were actually missing that. A Lucas Alario goal ruled out, a header against the bar and the great chance missed by Aleksandar Dragovic would have been enough to earn a deserved 3-2 win against Werder. Only that didn't happen."
"2-2 against Bremen: the Werkself with lots of commitment but again without a win," was the headline in the Kölner Stadt Anzeiger. "Bayer 04 Leverkusen and Werder Bremen shared the goals in a 2-2 draw in a frenetic match on Saturday night. It could have been 4-4 or 5-3." The reporter was impressed by "the emotional Leverkusen reaction to going behind in the second half. The tactical plan had not worked, the drills in the passing game were absent but the team at least found a battling unity and impressed against a Bremen side, known for the susceptibility of their defence, with pure desire and commitment. That's not the strategy of the coach Peter Bosz but it did provide the spectators and fans at the stadium spectacular match and top entertainment." The man of the match was Karim Bellarabi: "His runs and crosses, above all in the second half, were worth the entrance money. The former Germany international tore through the left side of the Bremen defence and his performance actually deserved much more than just the one assist he provided."
The Frankfurter Rundschau summed up the events on the pitch as follows: "Leverkusen did put more effort into attacking but it was Bremen who again benefited from a deflection with the goal from Klaassen. Sergent put the Dutchman in a position to shoot. In a very open game, Alario scored a deserved equaliser for Bayer with the assist from Bellarabi. And Alario then hit the bar with a header (67'). Bayer were on top in closing stages."
New signing Miguel Gutiérrez arrives in Leverkusen having won the Champions League, the Spanish league title and an Olympic gold medal. However, the 25-year-old Spaniard, signed from Napoli, is looking to the future – he wants to write the next chapter of success with the Werkself. Bayer04.de takes a closer look at the skilful, attack-minded left-back, who will wear the number 3 jersey.
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The Werkself's training camp in Weimarer Land all in one place: in our daily blog you'll find all the insights and updates from the day. Day three (Tuesday 4 August) begins with a thorough open session on the pitch. After lunch, some players have media engagements at the team hotel, and then the team come together for a barbecue in the evening.
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Nine matches against teams from nine countries, two penalty shoot-outs won, and encounters that went far beyond football: As with last year, the Inklusionswerkself enjoyed an extraordinary week at the Genuine Cup 2026 in Houston, USA, and made memories that will last a lifetime. This year, the Leverkusen side took part as Germany’s official representatives and, accordingly, took to the pitch in Germany kit. Together with 53 teams from 53 nations, the Black and Reds once again sent a powerful message of inclusion and participation – and also impressed on the pitch by winning their group.
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The Werkself training camp in the Weimarer Land all in one place: in our daily blog, you’ll find all the insights and updates from the day. The programme for day two (Monday, 3 August) centres on two training sessions – one in the morning (open to the public) and one in the early evening (behind closed doors) – at the nearby training grounds. In the afternoon, fans can look forward to a big fan meet-up with club legend Paulo Sergio at Schloss Blankenhain.
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