Twelve days after the unlucky 3-2 defeat against Bayern Munich, Pätzold made two changes to his starting line-up. Summer signing Shen Menglu started at right back in place of Juliette Vidal. Ahead of her, Loreen Bender started on the right wing instead of Karolina Lea Vilhjalmsdottir, who played for Iceland in two friendlies in the USA during international break. 17-year-old Paula Schwartze from the U20 team was in the Bundesliga squad for the first time.
The visitors made a dream start: The first attack of the game saw Bender pass to Kramer who sidestepped two opponents before slotting the ball home. Leverkusen, playing in the cyan blue away kit for the first time, made it 1-0 after 77 seconds. At the other end, Janou Levels was able to turn the first dangerous cross from FC Köln away for a corner (8'). The hosts endeavoured to respond but the Werkself stood firm with a lot of hard work in defence.
The hosts were finally rewarded for their efforts with an impressive strike. A cross from the right saw Laura Vogt hit the ball into the top left corner with a bicycle kick (21'). The Werkself hit back four minutes later. Referee Naemi Breier awarded a penalty for a foul in the box by the goalscorer Vogt. Kramer converted the penalty to score her first brace for Bayer 04 (25').
Three minutes later, the Dane Sofie Zdebel hit a shot just wide of the left upright. The visitors kept up the pressure, Bender broke into the penalty area at pace but her shot was blocked (31'). The Pätzold team became more and more secure up to half-time and they succeeded in keeping the FC Köln team away from their goal.
The second half started with no substitutions but it was more lively. FC Köln pressed forward and the Bayer 04 Women waited for their chance to counter. A long cross from Bender landed on top of the net (54') with neither side showing much more danger initially. Shortly after that, Vilhjalmsdottir replaced her teammate in the same position (62').
The hosts gained the upper hand in this phase of the game and put the Werkself under pressure. Kramer and Co. had individual attacks to ease the pressure. After a long interruption due to an injury, Pätzold made a further substitution bringing on Estrella Merino Gonzalez for Menglu (70'). FC Köln were running out of steam with the spectators seeing more challenges than attempts on goal.
In a hard-fought finish to the game, Levels tried a long-range effort. At the other end the hosts were dangerous from a free kick in front of the goal minded by Friederike Repohl (81’). The substitute Vilhjalmsdottir was then denied by the Köln keeper Josefine Osigus (84’). For the last few minutes, Pätzold brought on Ida Daedelow and Delice Boboy. Kramer had a big chance from a counter-attack to seal the win but missed (90+2'). The visitors gave nothing away in defence as they secured the derby win.
The Leverkusen Women are back in action on Sunday, 10 November (kick-off: 14.00 CET) with a home game at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium against Turbine Potsdam with the newly promoted club pointless after seven matches. Tickets for the game are available HERE from the Bayer 04 online shop.
Match stats:
FC Köln: Osigus - Matysik, Vogt, Hechler (Degen 78'), Gerhardt (Leimenstoll 90') - Feiersinger, Achcinska, Zeller - Donhauser (Wiankowska 57'), Ziemer, Bienz (Billa 57')
Bayer 04: Repohl - Menglu (Merino Gonzalez 70'), Ostermeier, Turanyi, Levels - Zdebel, Piljic - Bender (Vilhjalmsdottir 62'), Kögel (Daedelow 90+1') - Kramer, Kehrer (Boboy 90+1')
Goals: 0-1 Kramer (2’), 1-1 Vogt (21’), 1-2 Kramer (25’ pen.)
Red card: Pätzold (90+5’ for dissent)
Yellow cards: Bienz, Vogt, Hechler - Zdebel, Bender, Turanyi, Kehrer
Referee: Naemi Breier (Zerf)
Attendance: 2,600 at the Franz Kremer Stadium
Twelve Werkself players have been selected for their national teams in the final international break of the year, with the Leverkusen's international players competing in the final group matches in the UEFA Nations League, in qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup or the Africa Cup of Nations. We round up all the results involving Bayer 04 players here.
Show moreFive players in the Bayer 04 Women squad have been selected for the Germany U23s for two international fixtures. That was announced by the German Football Association (DFB) on Tuesday afternoon.
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Show moreThe Bayer 04 Fanzone opens in two days time on Wednesday, 20 November in the South Stand at the BayArena. Bayer 04 fans will be able to enjoy a state-of-the-art, interactive shopping and fan experience covering more than 700 square metres. Black and Reds supporters are warmly welcome to spend an exciting day in this brand-new area at the stadium.
Show moreIt is already a fact that the Bayer 04 Women have had their best Hinrunde ever. The Werkself are fourth in the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga on 23 points two behind the top team. Tickets are now on sale for the final games of the year. The tickets for the last two home matches in 2024 at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium are available now. First up on Friday, 6 December (kick-off: 18.30 CET) are last season's runners-up VfL Wolfsburg and that is followed by the home game at the start of the Rückrunde against SC Freiburg on Saturday, 14 December (12.00 CET).
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