A year with the women

A good Rückrunde, extensive upheaval in the summer and a first half of the season that promises much excitement for the second half: 2023 brought highs and lows, but above all exciting developments for the Leverkusen girls. The Bayer 04 Women's year in review.

January: Training camp and trio of friendlies

In their preparations for the rest of the 2022/23 campaign, Bayer 04, who were sixth in the table after the first 10 matchdays, played three friendlies in January. After a 0-0 draw against Fortuna Sittard, the team headed to Zeist in the Netherlands for a training camp, where they trained at the campus of the Dutch football association (KNVB). The second winter friendly ended in a 4-2 win against Ajax there. Back at home, there was a 2-0 loss to league rivals Eintracht Frankfurt a week before the resumption of the league.​

April: goalless april

That new-found attacking power faltered in the two league outings in April. In the rearranged clash at SGS Essen, Bayer 04 managed a 0-0 draw. Against TSG Hoffenheim, Robert de Pauw's side failed to take their chances and went down to a 1-0 defeat following a late penalty.

may: seven points for fifth place

In the home match against Eintracht, Bayer 04 Women fought back from 3-0 down in the closing stages but ultimately lost 3-2. That proved to be the last defeat of the campaign. First there was a comfortable 5-1 win against soon-to-be relegated Turbine Potsdam, and then Leverkusen even delayed Bayern Munich's title with an impressive 0-0 draw against the visitors. The season ended with a 2-0 success in Bremen on Matchday 22, which secured fifth place with 30 points and, for the first time ever, a positive goal difference (31:28)

JunE: u17s win league

There was an impressive success for Bayer 04's under-17 girls: in the final of the German U17 championship, coach Aleksandar Vukicevic's side won 2-1 against SpVg Aurich on 17 June in Bergisch Gladbach - the first title in the club's first participation in the final. The team qualified by finishing first in the West/Southwest section at the end of May. Strikers Delice Boboy and Estrella Merino Gonzalez were subsequently promoted to the first-team squad for the new season.

July: major change in squad

July was marked by major upheaval in the squad. No fewer than 10 players left the works club, including top goalscorer Bayings (Bayern), Juliane Wirtz (Werder Bremen) and, after 14 years at Bayer 04, record appearance maker Anna Klink (Basel). In came 12 new faces up to the start of the season, including Karólína Lea Vilhjálmsdóttir and Emilie Bragstad on loan from champions Bayern and as well as seven other arrivals from other clubs.

August: Training camp in Goch

After a 6-0 win against second-division outfit FSV Gütersloh as part of Bayer 04's season-opening event, the women headed off to training camp. The team prepared for the new season in Goch, North Rhine-Westphalia, close to the Dutch border. De Pauw described it as "one of the best training camps" of his coaching career. As well as a lot of fitness and tactical work on the pitch, the focus was particularly on team building for the new-look group. Among other things, the players successfully tried their hand at building a raft together in small groups and at "pitch and put", a variant of golf. The stay in Goch was followed by two friendlies at Eintracht Frankfurt (1-3) and against Fortuna Sittard (2-2).

September: convincing in cup, home win against Nürnberg

Pre-season ended on a successful note with a 4-1 win over Feyenoord at Kurtekotten. A week later, Leverkusen Women were convincing in their opening competitive fixture as they eased past SV Meppen 3-0 in the second round of the DFB Cup. A week later, the first outing in the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga ended in a 3-0 loss away to Champions League runners-up Wolfsburg. But Bayer 04 collected their first three points of the campaign in style two weeks later, trouncing promoted side 1. FC Nürnberg 6-0.

October: seven Points – Derby glory

October could well have ended with a perfect haul of nine points from three games, although the fact it "only" finished with seven is still worthy of praise. In the away clash at TSG Hoffenheim, who finished fourth last term and 18 points better off than Bayer 04, the visitors led 2-0 with half an hour left, but after missing a penalty it was suddenly 2-2 instead of 3-0. De Pauw's side made up for the dropped points in the subsequent home game against SC Freiburg with a commanding 3-0 win. Matchday 5 began with the derby at Köln. Captain Elisa Senß, Nikola Karczewska and Lilla Turányi all missed the game at short notice due to illness, yet the Werkself earned another three points courtesy of Janou Levels' first goal.

November: draw specialists through in cup

Following the second international break of the season, Leverkusen shared the points on three consecutive occassions. After an uneventful 0-0 stalemate against Essen, 16-year-old Merino Gonzalez salvaged a point with her first Bundesliga goal in a crunch match at Eintracht Frankfurt. Bayer 04 were also heading for defeat at promoted side RB Leipzig before substitute Verena Wieder equalised at 1-1 with a stunning scissor kick in added time. In the last 16 of the cup, the Bundesliga side again asserted their superiority and progressed to the quarter-finals with a deserved 4-0 victory at second-tier Hamburger SV.

DeCember: Senß debuts for germany

December started spectacularly for Elisa Senß. The 26-year-old was rewarded for her consistently strong performances with a first-call up to the Germany squad by interim coach Horst Hrubesch. In the important penultimate UEFA Women's Nations League match against Denmark, she was brought on at half-time - and Senß produced an impressive debut in the crucial 3-0 win. She was promptly included in the starting line-up for the group finale in Wales and played her part over 90 minutes in the 0-0 draw, which saw Germany through to the semi-finals and kept their hopes of Olympic qualification alive. Back at Bayer 04, Senß could not prevent the 3-0 loss at Bayern Munich and the second defeat of the campaign. Four days later, however, she did help to ensure a positive end to the year with a 4-1 win over Duisburg at UHS.