The Kölner Stadt Anzeiger provides a eulogy to Julian Brandt under the headline 'The Werkself on song': "The opener was the individual achievement of a great footballer. Julian Brandt won the ball 40 yards from goal and weaved his way through the Berlin defence before hitting the ball into the back of the net with the outside of his foot."
The Kölnische Rundschau succinctly sums up the Cup tie: 'Class beats passion' and reports: "The game quickly sorted itself out. Leverkusen dominated with a performance that reflected their Bundesliga quality and individual ability. Union tried to counter this class with passion and were well organised... A formidable goalkeeper helped the visitors keep a clean sheet for the time being. It took a brilliant individual move to break down the defence and beat the last man. Julian Brandt left the Berliners standing like slalom poles."
The Bild Zeitung title reads 'Thanks to Brandt: Leverkusen grow ever more impressive' and reports: "When Brandt plays then the opposition box is where the action is."
The Cologne-based Express focuses attention on next Saturday's derby against FC Köln: "Bayer get ready for Köln: Leverkusen blow Union Berlin away, clocking up nine goals in three days."
The verdict of the Rheinische Post: "Bayer 04 have reached the last sixteen of the Cup. In the 4-1 win against second division Union Berlin, the team coached by Heiko Herrlich only needed one impressive half...Bayer sporting director Rudi Völler praised the Berliners. 'They're a very, very good team. They'll go up,' said the 1990 World Cup winner."
The Berlin media also complimented Union for the courageous performance. "The warm-down 25 minutes after the final whistle saw the team enthusiastically cheered on by the travelling support. The 3,000 plus Berlin fans sang out in the almost empty stadium that Union would play in Europe one day. In the end, Union went down with flags flying," writes the Tagesspiegel.
The European jersey has been launched, the UEL opponents have been drawn – and anticipation for the European campaign is running high. To mark the occasion, an autograph session was held on Friday afternoon, 28 August, at the Fanwelt with current Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and official club legend Paulo Sergio.
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After six and a half years, Exequiel Palacios is leaving the Bundesliga and moving from Bayer 04 to the Premier League. The Argentine, who as a Werkself player won the World Cup with his national team four years ago and finished as runners-up at this summer’s tournament, will play for newly promoted English side Ipswich Town with immediate effect. The 27-year-old, whose contract in Leverkusen was due to run until 30 June 2030, joined Bayer 04 in January 2020 as a promising young talent. He steadily developed into one of the best defensive midfielders in the German top flight.
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When Exequiel Palacios moved from the Argentinian club River Plate to Bayer Leverkusen on 1 January 2020, the then 21-year-old could not have imagined just how successful the next six and a half years would be for him. Pala, as he is known, had already won the Copa Libertadores – the most prestigious competition in South American club football – with River Plate. But there were still so many more trophies to come.
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To mark Exequiel Palacios’s departure, we’ve put together a compilation of the midfielder’s finest and most important goals from his six-and-a-half years at the club.
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