The Werkself collected 63 points in the end. The fact that total was 'only' good enough to qualify for the Europa League is primarily down to the strong competition this term. Since the introduction of three points for a win in 1996, 63 points has always been enough to finish in the top four. The points return is also the best for the Werkself in a season for seven years: In 2012/13, the Black and Reds finished in third place on 65 points.
Bayer 04 only picked up more points (39) in the second half of the season in 1999/2000 than in the recently completed Bundesliga campaign the total of 35 also being achieved in 1996/97 and 2010/11. In the first four weeks after the winter break, the Werkself picked up a lot of points with eight wins out of ten league games.
Goals guaranteed with games involving Bayer 04. The team led by head coach Peter Bosz only failed to score once in the second half of the season in a 2-0 defeat against Hertha Berlin on matchday 33. And the Black and Reds scored 15 more goals (38) than in the first half of the season (23).
Bayer 04 have often been the first out of the blocks this season: Kevin Volland and Co. scored 14 goals in the first 15 minutes, second only to the perennial champions FC Bayern on 18. Although Leverkusen did score the most goals in the final 15 minutes: Werkself fans were able to celebrate goals 17 times in the closing stages of league matches.
The Bayer 04 players covered a distance of 4,055 kilometres (an average of 119.3 kilometres per game) in 2019/20 and they put in the most running of any team in the Bundesliga. The 129.4 kilometres on matchday 11 in the 2-0 away win at Wolfsburg was a record for the season.
Peter Bosz' possession-based approach is reflected in the numbers: His team had an average of 65% possession this season – only the champions from Munich were better (66%). The Werkself also had the third best passing accuracy this season (87%).
The Black and Reds definitely did not have to rely on one striker: A total of 15 different players got their name on the scoresheet and you have to go back to the 2002/03 season to find more Werkself players (17) scoring in a Bundesliga campaign.
The Bosz team proved to be unpredictable in front of the opposition goal. 24 goals were scored with the left foot and the same number with the right. And there were also eight headed goals to celebrate.
Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personalised Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month.
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Kasper Hjulmand has led the Werkself back to winning ways and is back in the knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League with Bayer 04 after the 3-0 win against Villarreal on Wednesday evening. In an interview with the Werkself magazine at the BayArena in the team meeting room, directly opposite the dressing room, he provided some special insights for the current issue, which was published in January. A conversation with the 53-year-old coach about values, attitudes and personal experiences as well as interests outside of football.
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The thrilling 3-1 win for Bayer 04 against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Hinrunde is a fond memory for Alejandro Grimaldo, with his brace from free kicks, and coach Kasper Hjulmand, who was in the dugout under the Cross for the first time. Now comes the return fixture in the metropolis on the River Main and after going out of the DFB Pokal and the Champions League, the full focus at Eintracht, currently managed by two interim coaches, is now on the Bundesliga. For their part, the Werkself will do everything in their power to continue the longest winning run against a Bundesliga club. The matchday news.
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Bayer 04 have ended Artem Stepanov’s loan deal at Nürnberg and agreed a new loan to Utrecht in the Netherlands. The Ukrainian striker did not play as much as hoped for at the Bundesliga 2 club and will now continue his development in the Eredivisie for the rest of 2025/26.
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The draw for the knockout play-offs of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League was made on Friday, 30 January and saw Bayer 04 paired with Olympiacos. It’s a reunion with the Greek side following the Werkself’s 2-0 loss in Athens on Matchday 7 of the league phase.
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