Season review, Rückrunde: Strong finish despite host of injuries

matchdays 18-34

Squad changes in the winter

The loan spell at Norwegian club Brann Bergen came to an end for goalkeeper Lennart Grill at the turn of the year. That meant the 23-year-old reinforced the trio of Werkself keepers of captain Lukas Hradecky, Andrey Lunev and Niklas Lomb. Striker Sardar Azmoun joined Leverkusen at the end of January. The Iran international was signed from top Russian club Zenit St Petersburg to offer head coach Gerardo Seoane more choices in attack. Nadiem Amiri left the Werkself the day before to join CFC Genoa in Serie A in a six-month loan deal.

Successful start to the New Year

The second half of the Bundesliga season in 2022 started around three weeks after the last match in December. The Black and Reds entertained Union Berlin setting the pace in the opening minutes. After missing several chances, striker Patrik Schick (38') was on the spot to open the scoring from a tight angle. The Irons level just before the break with a goal from Grischa Prömel and Prömel turned the game round with a second goal just after the restart. The Werkself refused to give up and continued to press forward. With 84 minutes on the clock, defender Jonathan Tah went up front to power a header into the back of the Union Berlin net to level at 2-2.

Leverkusen went on to secure a 2-1 away win at Borussia Mönchengladbach and a convincing 5-1 victory over FC Augsburg. The man of the match was forward Moussa Diaby who netted a hat-trick against Augsburg at the BayArena.

Thriller against BVB

Bayer against Borussia – a fixture to guarantee goals this season: As in the first meeting, the ball ended up in the back of the net seven times in the Rückrunde. The Seoane team achieve their best performance of the season at the Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund with the Werkself beating BVB 5-2. The clash between second and third had something for everybody beginning with an own goal for both sides. Dortmund's Akanji (11') and Leverkusen's Jeremie Frimpong (16') both slip up. Bayer 04 keeper Lennart Grill, who replaces Hradecky due to a coronavirus infection, is left helpless but he goes on to impress with some great saves and a mature performance. A textbook lightning counter-attack via Diaby, Schick and Karim Bellarabi ends with Florian Wirtz (20') putting the Black and Reds back on track. Robert Andrich (28') makes it 3-1 from a free kick on the edge of the box, before Tah (53') powers in a volley to increase the lead to 4-1. In the final minutes, Diaby (87') and BVB striker Steffen Tigges (89') round off proceedings with goals to make the final score 5-2 to the Werkself.

Successful phase

The convincing performance at a direct rival proves empowering. A 4-2 win against VfB Stuttgart underlines the good form of the Werkself. A run of four wins in succession is followed by a 3-2 defeat away to Mainz 05 with the Werkself twice giving away the lead. But they make amends with a 3-0 win against Arminia Bielefeld. Once again Diaby plays a crucial role in the victory with two goals, Lucas Alario netted the other. Leverkusen's top goalscorer Schick is sidelined for six games, including this one, due to a muscle injury.

Worth more than a point against Bayern 

Bayer 04 are initially too defensive in the meeting with league leaders Bayern Munich. Accordingly, the Black and Reds go behind to a goal scored by Bayern's Niklas Süle but Thomas Müller puts the ball in his own net in the first half. A goal that has an effect – the Werkself find their rhythm and the hosts are struggling. However, as Leverkusen miss a large number of good chances before the break the two sides go into half-time with the score at 1-1. The record champions take control after the restart but there are no clear-cut chances. Just before the end of the game, Diaby wins a foot race to play the ball into the penalty area for Frimpong to run on to but the Bayern keeper Sven Ulreich is able to save his close range shot. The top game on matchday 25 ends in a draw.

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Diaby keeps hopes of quarter-final alive

Midweek brings the Round of 16 tie in the UEFA Europa League with the Black and Reds away to Atalanta. Leverkusen take the lead on eleven minutes at the Gwiss Stadium through Charles Aránguiz but later are exposed to the Italians turning the game round clinically and effectively as they go 2-1 up. Atalanta go further ahead just after the restart. Bayer 04 captain Hradecky has his hands full but prevents an even bigger deficit. Diaby makes it 3-2 with a goal from the edge of the box on 59 minutes. The France international thereby maintains a chance for the Werkself to go through to the quarter-finals in the return match.

Serious injuries in the derby

The Bundesliga awaits in between the matches in the Europa League: Bayer 04 take on neighbours FC Köln. The Werkself are really unlucky in the derby. Right-back Frimpong has to go off due to an ankle injury after thirteen minutes that sees him sidelined for several weeks. Another Werkself player goes to ground shortly after that. Wirtz (27') is unlucky to twist his knee: a torn cruciate – his season is over. And there is little comfort on the pitch. Substitute Schindler scores the winner for FC Köln on 67 minutes.

Reorganisation requireed

The return match against Atalanta is four days later. Bayer 04 are forced to make changes to their starting eleven due to the injuries to Wirtz and Frimpong, they sit deeper and have to reorganise on the pitch. Tah & Co. accept the tricky situation and demonstrate their ability to adapt. In the second half, Diaby (48') is just kept out by the Atalanta keeper Musso and shots from Demirbay (51’), Aranguiz (52’) and Bakker (67’) are off target. Atalanta's Boga destroys Leverkusen's hopes with a goal in added time to give the Italians a 1-0 win. 

Strong finish to the season

In the remaining eight matches in Germany's top flight, the Seoane team pick up 19 out of a possible 24 points (six wins, one draw, one defeat). A late brace from Paulinho secures all three points at Wolfsburg and causes great excitement. The home game against Hertha Berlin is a match for the spectators. For the first time since the start of the coronavirus pandemic in the spring of 2020 there are no crowd limits at the BayArena. And the team make their contribution to the special day with a 2-1 victory. That is followed by a goalless draw at VfL Bochum and a 1-0 defeat at home to RB Leipzig. After that, the Black and Reds clock up all the points available. There is a 4-1 victory at SpVgg Greuther Fürth and then a 2-0 win against eventual Europa League winners Eintracht Frankfurt.

Thirteenth Champions League qualification 

The Werkself secure third place in the Bundesliga on the penultimate matchday to secure the thirteenth qualification for the UEFA Champions League in the club's history. Leverkusen equalise twice against TSG Hoffenheim. Two goals from Schick and one each from Diaby and Alario lead to a 4-2 win.

Farewell for Rudi Völler

The final Bundesliga match for Rudi Völler as sporting managing director at Bayer 04 ends with a 2-1 win against SC Freiburg. The 62-year-old is taking a step back but will continue at the Werkself as a member of the shareholders committee and as a club ambassador. After the final whistle, he celebrates with the fans, the team and the whole Bayer 04 family. On the one hand, celebrating the conclusion to a successful season in 2020/21 and, on the other hand, his time in a number of positions at the Werkself – as a player, sporting director, caretaker coach, sporting director again and finally as sporting managing director.

Bayer 04 successful once again 

A successful season that has a set of top numbers: Bayer 04 pick up the most points in nine years (64) and finish in the top three for the first time in six years. The Werkself are second in the Rückrunde rankings (goal difference 40-19) level on points with top club RB Leipzig (42-15) who have a better goal difference by six. The 36 points collected represent the second best second half of the season haul in the club's history – following the 1999/2000 season (39). In addition, Hradecky & Co. only conceded 19 goals in the second half of the season and the team from Saxony are the only ones better than Leverkusen with 15 conceded. Up front, Patrik Schick scores 24 goals in just 27 appearances which puts the Czech Player of the Year second behind Robert Lewandowski in the top goalscorer's list. Moussa Diaby sets a new club record with the fast left-footer providing twelve assists over the course of the season.

Saison review, Hinrunde