There is a positive overall summary for starters: If the Bundesliga season was assessed according to the calendar year then Bayer 04 would have secured qualification for the Champions League in fourth place – just as the final table stood in the summer. The Werkself have won 19 games and drawn five (ten defeats) since January after head coach Peter Bosz took charge under the Bayer Cross at the end of December last year with his team picking up 62 points. Only Bayern Munich, RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund clocked up more points in 2019. Equally amazing: Bayer 04 have finished in the top half of the table in the first half of a Bundesliga campaign for the fourteenth time in succession – only the record champions from Munich have a longer run (28).
Since the start of the year, Bayer 04 have scored 66 goals and conceded 44 in all competitions. Three games played a significant part in the tally: In the second half of last season, Bayer 04 won 5-1 away to Mainz and Hertha Berlin. In addition, there was the memorable 6-1 home win against Eintracht Frankfurt. All three matches make the top ten of the biggest-ever home or away wins for the Werkself.
One part of the successful formula this year has been the pressing of the Black and Reds: Opposing teams only had a 75% completion rate for passes against Bayer 04, which was the lowest against any other Bundesliga side. And there is also an impressive value in terms of possession: With the exception of FC Bayern, no other Bundesliga club has retained the ball more effectively (64%).
Julian Brandt left the Black and Reds to head for Dortmund in the summer, Dominik Kohr joined Eintracht Frankfurt and Tin Jedvaj went out on loan to FC Augsburg. Incomers were Kerem Demirbay and Nadiem Amiri (both from TSG 1899 Hoffenheim), Moussa Diaby (Paris St Germain) and Daley Sinkgraven (Ajax). Adrian Stanilewicz moved up to the first team squad from the U19s. The first new signing for next year is already agreed: The Argentinian Exequiel Palacios is set to join the Werkself from River Plate at the beginning of January.
Kevin Volland can delight in being the top goalscorer for the Werkself over the past 12 months. The striker has found the back of the net 15 times for the Leverkusen since January. He is ahead of Kai Havertz (14), Lucas Alario (13), Leon Bailey (8) and Julian Brandt (7) who joined Borussia Dortmund in the summer. The goalscorers' list for 2019 also includes Charles Aránguiz (4), Karim Bellarabi (3), Jonathan Tah (2) plus Sven Bender, Wendell, Paulinho and Moussa Diaby – first French goalscorer for the Werkself – with one each. The Werkself also benefited from eight own goals scored by opposing teams.
Central defender Sven Bender also had one of his best half seasons under the Bayer Cross. The 30-year-old not only completed 94% of his passes to a team-mate (fifth best in the league) but he also made the most passes of all players in Germany's top flight with a total of 1,341.
Hopefully these sorts of numbers will continue in 2020.
BIOGENA is the new performance partner for the Bayer 04 Leverkusen Women’s team. Under a partnership initially set to run for three years, the club and the leading Austrian micronutrient company are pooling their expertise in the areas of health, fitness and top-level performance.
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100 children from the Bayer 04 Football Academy had the chance to gain exclusive insights: As part of the summer camp, the young footballers headed inside the BayArena at midday on Tuesday, 21 July, where they were due to meet Werkself keepers Janis Blaswich and Simeon Rapsch in the press conference room. The two players took plenty of time to answer every question from the inquisitive audience – whether it was about their own careers or their first impressions of the new head coach. Finally, there was even time left to sign autographs for the young fans.
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Alejo Sarco has left Bayer 04 Leverkusen to join Sporting Gijón in Spain’s second division. Bayer 04 have secured a buy-back clause for the 20-year-old Argentine striker, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Borussia Mönchengladbach.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have signed 16-year-old midfield prospect Gabriel Minutillo on a long-term contract. The Germany youth international will play for the U19s this season.
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