Mainz suffered their first defeat of the season at the hands of Leverkusen on Saturday afternoon. Despite a strong start to the game, the 28,500 fans inside the MEWA ARENA were stunned as their team went into the dressing room 3-0 down at the break. Leverkusen’s devastating and clinical counter-attacking football in the final ten minutes of the first half, along with goals from Exequiel Palacios (29’) and Jeremy Frimpong (39’, 41’), broke the back of the match and put the guests in a commanding position. Mainz showed fighting spirit in the second half but they ultimately failed to convert their many chances into goals.

Bruno Labbadia gives his thoughts on the away match at FC Schalke 04 at 18:30 CET on Saturday.

“Because of the amount of away games we have in the coming weeks, it’s good to be able to play at home”, said Oliver Ruhnert, Union’s Director of Professional Football on the draw. “We know Heidenheim well, they’ve had the same trainer for a long time, and are a top team in the second division. They’re a good opponent, and we’ll have to be very focussed.”

VfL have already had their first competitive match of the 2022/23 season with the 1-0 win away to Jena in the DFB Cup. On Saturday 6 August (kick-off 15:30 CEST), the Wolves turn their attentions to the new Bundesliga campaign. Ahead of the opening match against newly promoted Werder Bremen, VfL goalkeeper Koen Casteels took time out of his busy schedule for a brief interview, where he talked about pre-season training, getting the new league season under way and his personal goals.

Moukoko made his debut for the Bundesliga outfit shortly after his 16th birthday and he has already made 52 senior appearances.

Following eight victories in the first eight competitive games of the new year, the Black & Yellows and their fans are riding high. You could sense that throughout the training session in Dortmund-Brackel on Tuesday afternoon. Having completed some warm-up exercises and a passing drill, the 11 starters from the weekend turned their focus to the fans and their autograph requests, while the rest of the squad took part in a match scenario with two goals. The good news: Mateu Morey worked with the ball and completed the passing drills along with his team-mates.

Preparations begin for Saturday’s meeting with SC Freiburg The Foals began training on Tuesday ahead of...

A few days have passed since SV Werder fought their way to a 2-0 win against VfB Stuttgart. Deep in injury time, head coach Ole Werner made another double change and brought on Lee Buchanan and Dikeni Salifou. For the latter, it was his Bundesliga debut, and was ended by the referee not even a minute later with the full-time whistle. “It was a really amazing feeling. I had butterflies. I was not really thinking that I would be subbed on,“ confessed the happy debutant after the game.

A couple of weeks rest, well-deserved relaxation after an intense season. Then it was back to preparation for the new season for head coach Thomas Reis. On Monday, he gathered his players on the training pitch for the first time. Afterwards, the coach gave information about personnel and preparation.

The last few weeks have been quite eventful for Weston McKennie. The 20- year-old extended his contract and finished runner up at the Gold Cup after captaining the US national team in the final. In an interview with schalke04.de, the midfielder looks back on a busy summer and talks about the future.