42

BayArena

Wednesday 16^th September 2026

After getting the ticket for FC Köln sorted I noticed that there were also games scheduled for the following Wednesday, our last night in Köln. As I had only managed to get a single ticket for the RheinEnergieStadion Naomi wasn’t able to come with me so I thought this would be a way for us both to get to a game while we were out there. She was keen so I started looking at options.

The obvious choice seemed to be a visit to Fortuna Köln against Wehen Weisbaden in the 3. Liga at the Südstadion. This would be a quick and easy trip on the local tram but the ground looked as though it wouldn’t be the best as all the seats and terracing were on the other side of a running track that surrounded the pitch. All the other options though seemed to involve much more travel or a drop to a much lower league and grounds that were essentially public astroturf pitches. That was until the Europa League draw was made…

Bayer 04 Leverkusen are one of FC Köln’s biggest rivals (behind Borussia Mönchengladbach and possibly Fortuna Düsseldorf) and play at the BayArena just 15 minutes on the train from central Köln. In recent years they have been far more successful than FC Köln and managed to shake their ‘Neverkusen’ nickname in 2023/24 when they finally won the Bundesliga, going undefeated in the process. They also won the DFB Pokal that year and have made the final of both the Champions League and the Europa League in the last 25 years. Getting to see them at the BayArena was a much better prospect for showing Naomi what German football could be like.

Leverkusen had qualified for the Europa League by finishing 6th in the Bundesliga last year and fortunately for me had been drawn at home in the first of their league games against NK Celje the winners of the Slovenian PrvaLiga last year. Despite their recent success Leverkusen aren’t as well supported as FC Köln and tickets are easier to pick up even though the BayArena has a much lower capacity than the RheinEnergieStadion. I doubt that NK Celje are a particularly appealing draw either and it meant that by the time the ticket sales for the game had been opened up to non-members there were still some excellent seats available. I chose a couple right on halfway to ensure a good view whilst still being close enough to the Ultras to hopefully experience a good atmosphere.

Bayer Leverkusen were formed in 1904 by the employees of the local paint factory which over time transformed into the pharmaceutical company Bayer whose headquarters are in Leverkusen. The team is still owned by the company (one of the few exceptions to Germany’s 50+1 fan ownership rules. A recent legal ruling means that this ownership structure will need to change in the coming years but it’s still easy to see the influence of the company on the club over the years, not least in some of the clubs previous shirt sponsorship deals.

Leverkusen itself is a bit of a one-horse town with the pharmaceutical factory providing the vast majority of the local employment. As a result there isn’t a great deal to do in the city and so Naomi and I had spent most of the day back in Köln. We had travelled through a little early though in order to get some dinner before the game. I had managed to find a small pizzeria near to the station which seemed to get good reviews. Considering the less than salubrious surroundings it was remarkably good and after we’d finished our meals we set off on the relatively short walk to the ground.

The walk took us back through the station and then around the edge of a large park. At one point the path crossed a river and we spotted a heron searching for his own dinner. As we got closer the number of fans around us began to increase significantly and we managed to catch our first glimpse of the stadium through the trees. We also saw some of the other facilities that make up the wider Bayer sport complex including a basketball arena, numerous astroturf training pitches, and even a couple of beach volleyball courts.

We got to the stadium and made our way inside. There were wide approaches and plenty of staff meaning that it took barely any time at all and we didn’t feel too crowded or rushed. It was the same inside the ground too, numerous concession stands meant that queues were short and we were able to get some drinks and make our way to our seats. You can tell that the ground had been fully refurbished quite recently.

I left Naomi at our seats and went in search of a club shop to see if I could find a pin badge. There were a few smaller outlets selling merchandise but these were almost solely selling scarves and I was told that to get anything else I would have to head round to the main shop. On the way I bumped into the Leverkusen mascot Brian the Lion which felt surprisingly Scottish football. The shop was behind the goal in the south stand and had a brilliant panoramic view of the stadium. They also had the UEFA Cup trophy which they won in 1988 on display. Pin badge secured I headed back to our seats ready for kick-off.

The Europa League branding on the pitch was being set out with meticulous detail as staff members measured the distance between the badges with a tape measure. The Leverkusen anthem was played before the game and got a really good reception from the fans but it nothing like what I had seen at Köln on Saturday with their version of Loch Lomand. The players emerged and lined up for their photographs and handshakes and before long we were underway.

Right from the start Leverkusen were the better team as they dominated possession and had a number of decent half chances. Celje however were better than I had expected them to be and seemed to be well drilled and solid in defence. That didn’t stop Leverkusen from creating chances but it did stop them from finishing them. Lucas Vásquez pushing up from right back was a frequent outlet for Leverkusen and his crosses were causing problems for Celje. On the other side Moussa Diaby was happy to take on, and usually beat, his man and created the first good chance when Patrick Schick shot just wide.

The Leverkusen ultras were in loud voice and their drumming and singing echoed round the stadium from the first whistle to the last motivating their team to look for the breakthrough. Martin Terrier had the next big chance when the ball was played into him on the edge of the box by Malik Tillman but his effort cannoned back off the post. When the first goal came however Celje turned out to be the architects of their own downfall. A short corner was whipped in by Aleix García and a sliced clearance by Svit Sešlar looped over Žan-Luk Leban’s head in the Celje goal and into the back of the net.

As is often the case the first goal saw the game change slightly. Leverkusen took their foot off the pedal a little and seemed happy to sit on their one goal advantage and try to consolidate. Despite being given more time and more possession Celje were unable to make much headway and didn’t manage their first chance of the game until about 30 minutes in. Then just before halftime there was a flurry of activity. First Leban pulled off a wonder save when García played in Terrier but his shot from six yards out was saved by the goalkeeper. At the other end Leban’s counterpart Mark Flekken was also called upon and pulled off an even better save when Sešlar rose highest and headed the ball towards the bottom corner only to see it clawed away at the last second.

Leverkusen were certainly good value for their lead at halftime. I would have expected them to have been further ahead based on the quality available to each side but a combination of good defending and wayward finishing meant that Celje were very much in the tie.

There was no significant increase in tempo or motivation from Leverkusen at the start of the second half. They seemed to think that if they kept going with what they were doing then they would eventually break down the Celje resistance. The best chance in the early stages of the half was another great save from Leban, this time from Facundo Medina who somehow found himself on the end of a knockdown into the six yard box but yet again a reflex save meant Leverkusen were still only a goal ahead.

Leverkusen manager Carles Martínez was clearly unhappy with what he was seeing as he decided to make a triple change just a few minutes into the second half. It took a while but the substitutes began to make a difference. Celje were also noticably tiring, both physically and mentally, and eventually the game was put to bed. Again it was a ball in from García, this time a corner from the right hand side. It was played deep and picked out Medina who calmly volleyed it with his left foot back across Leban and into the back of the net.

The goal broke Celje’s spirit and the last 15 minutes largely played out uneventfully as both teams seemed to want to be finished. The ultras were enjoying the comfortable nature of the win and were singing chants to the tune of Karma Chameleon by Culture Club and Give It Up by KC and the Sunshine Band.

At the final whistle we made our way out of the ground and started walking back to the station passing a kilt wearing bagpiper on the way. The trains had all been cancelled, we presumed as a safety measure to avoid thousands of fans on the platforms, but we didn’t fancy a late and lengthy bus journey back. After a slight route finding error we made it back to the station and instead ordered an Uber back through to Köln. Although this was an extra cost it saved us having to walk back from Köln Hbf to the hotel so it seemed worth it (especially with a long day of travelling ahead of us tomorrow).

The game was more entertaining than I feared it might have been and Celje showed themselves very well. The stadium itself might be the best that I have been to so far. You can tell that it has been redeveloped and everything about it seems to just work. Naomi really enjoyed herself too, her experience of large stadiums previously hasn’t been good and the difference here was obvious immediately. She was a bit surprised by the ultras, finding it crazy that some people were more focused on their roles leading the chanting than watching the game and I think she found them a bit too loud at times. Hopefully this experience will encourage her to come along to more foreign games in future though.

The Facts

• Ground
  • BayArena
• Home
  • Bayer 04 Leverkusen
• Away
  • NK Celje
• Competition
  • Europa League
• Result
  • 2 – 0
• Scorers
  • Svit Sešlar (og), Facundo Medina
• Attendance
  • 27,945
• Cost
  • £51
• Total distance travelled
  • 16 miles
• Transport
  • Train / Uber
• My MotM
  • Loic Badé, I was considering giving this to Celje goalkeeper Žan-Luk Leban but conceding the second goal in a losing effort made me think I needed to pick a Leverkusen player. Badé was a rock in the centre of defence, I don’t think I saw him lose a header all game and he frequently used his strength and pace to beat opposing players to the ball.