Review of the double-winning season! Part 1: Foundations for a historic campaign

Thrilled by the new squad

The fantastic atmosphere at the UEFA Europa League matches in Monaco and against Roma at the end of the previous season already gave a hint that the new campaign could be a special one. When Bayer 04 started unveiling their new signings in July, the fans were thrilled. Granit Xhaka arrived from Premier League club Arsenal, Jonas Hofmann from league rivals Borussia Mönchengladbach and Victor Boniface from Belgian club Saint-Gilloise. Bayer 04 had previously signed Alejandro Grimaldo from Benfica as well as the talented Arthur and Gustavo Puerta. Fernando Carro (CEO), Simon Rolfes (managing director, sport), Werner Wenning (chairman of the shareholders' committee) and coach Xabi Alonso were lauded by the media for their squad planning. The fact that the Spaniard signed an early two-year contract extension with Bayer 04 at the beginning of August until 30 June 2026 only added to the joy and confidence felt under the cross.

Impressive start and a first record

After two wins in friendlies against Olympique Marseille (2-1) and West Ham United (4-0), it was time for the competitive matches. The first game was the 8-0 win in the first round of the DFB Pokal against Regionalliga side FC Teutonia Ottensen. And even before the league opener against RB Leipzig, Bayer 04 had broken their first record: never before had the club sold more than 19,350 season tickets. That barrier had now been shattered. Membership figures were also rising rapidly. The new home jersey with the cross on the chest was selling like hot cakes. There was already a palpable sense of euphoria.

The 3-2 win against Leipzig and the away success at Mönchengladbach (3-0), kicked off the Werkself's incredible unbeaten run, which would last 51 games. Alonso's team wowed the fans with their enthusiasm in the first few games of the season. All the new signings hit the ground running. And in August, the Black & Reds strengthened their squad with three more players: goalkeeper Matej Kovar was signed from Manchester United, Nathan Tella joined from Southampton and Josip Stanisic arrived on loan from Bayern Munich.

Incredible support away from home too

Speaking of FC Bayern: The clash with the record champions in mid-September was the matchday's standout fixture. League leaders Bayer 04 travelled to the runners-up from Munich and, despite twice going behind, ended up earning a point thanks to an Exequiel Palacios penalty.

The Werkself then entered the Europa League group stage and impressed with a 4-0 win against BK Häcken. And they continued to be successful in the Bundesliga, beating 1. FC Heidenheim (4-1) and 1. FSV Mainz 05 (3-0). Around 4,000 fans travelled to the state capital of Rhineland-Palatinate to celebrate not only the victory, but also the best start to the league in Bayer 04's history. With six games played, the team had already amassed 16 points.

Goal guarantors Grimaldo and Boniface

Alejandro Grimaldo also played a big part in that. The Spanish set-piece specialist not only converted two direct free-kicks, but also set up two more goals. By the turn of the year, the left winger would go on to score 13 goals in 16 league appearances. What a track record! Victor Boniface was also in outstanding form. In September alone, the striker scored five goals and set up two more. Boniface's well-deserved reward: his debut for the Nigerian national team.

Derby win and ‘Goal of the Year’ from Wirtz

Captain Lukas Hradecky and Co. continued their successful run in October. In the home derby, 1. FC Köln stood no chance against the Werkself and went down 3-0, with Jonas Hofmann scoring the opener and setting up another goal. That meant the Germany international was directly involved in at least one goal in nine of his first ten competitive matches for the Werkself, an outstanding start. This was followed by narrow 2-1 wins against VfL Wolfsburg and SC Freiburg in the league. Florian Wirtz scored an absolute stunner against the Breisgau side after a breathtaking solo run, which was voted ‘Goal of the Month’ in October and, later, also 'Goal of the Year' for 2023.

Wirtz dribbled, passed, ran his socks off and worked his magic in the Europa League too, scoring one goal himself and setting up three others in a 5-1 win against Qarabag. In doing so, the youngster set a new record: since his Europa League debut in August 2020, no player had been directly involved in as many goals in the competition as the Leverkusen playmaker (ten goals, 12 assists). However, the victory against Qarabag wasn't the only reason to celebrate. In the game against the Azerbaijani champions, Patrik Schick made his eagerly anticipated comeback at the BayArena after 231 days out injured.

November began with a business trip to Baden-Württemberg. In the 2nd round of the DFB Pokal, the Werkself won 5-2 at third-division club SV Sandhausen - and were supported by around 3,000 Black & Red fans. The support from the Bayer 04 fans continued to be phenomenal, not only in the BayArena, which was consistently sold out, but also away from home.

Another new benchmark

In the league, Xabi Alonso's side stormed to victory after victory. The 4-0 win against 1. FC Union Berlin was their 16th in their 17th competitive match. Bayer 04's 31 from a possible 33 points after 11 Bundesliga matchdays equalled FC Bayern's old record from the 2015/16 season. In the Europa League, the Werkself wrapped up the group win early after two wins at Qarabag (1-0) and Häcken (2-0). Gustavo Puerto was handed a first start in Sweden, Noah Mbamba celebrated his Europa League debut and Ayman Aourir made his first appearance for the senior team.

Record international appearance-maker Granit Xhaka

And this was new too: In November, almost all of the Werkself's players were on the road with their national teams in the final international break of the year. Three Leverkusen players - Robert Andrich (Germany), Nathan Tella (Nigeria) and Alejandro Grimaldo (Spain), made their international debuts, while Granit Xhaka became Switzerland's record appearance-maker when he got his 119th cap.

Unbeaten and league leaders at Christmas

The final push in December was another tough one for Bayer 04: six games in 17 days, five of them at home at the BayArena. The two top clashes against Borussia Dortmund and VfB Stuttgart both ended 1-1, while the Black & Reds won in the round of 16 of the DFB Pokal (3-1 against SC Paderborn) and in the final EL group match against Molde (5-1). That made Bayer 04 the only club to have won all six group games in the Europa League that season. Also worth noting: goalkeeper Niklas Lomb returned to the starting XI against Molde for the first time since February 2021. Ken Izekor came off the bench in the 77th minute to make him Bayer's youngest competitive debutant at 16 years and 204 days and the youngest German ever to play in an EL match (or UEFA Cup). And Patrik Schick, making his first start for the Werkself after more than 400 days, scored six minutes after kick-off to make it 1-0.

Just a few days later, in the last game of the year, the Czech scored a remarkable hat-trick in a 4-0 win over VfL Bochum in front of a home crowd. Xabi Alonso surprised everyone by putting out a starting XI with no Africa Cup of Nations players in it. It was a decision that paid off for the games after the winter break. The Werkself, who honoured their 40,000th Bayer 04 club member before the kick-off against Bochum, headed into the winter break as league leaders and with an atmospheric Christmas carol sing-along, and were the only team in German professional football still unbeaten after their first 25 competitive matches of the season.

In part 2: The decisive moments, matches and events on the way to the double.