The second half of the 2018/19 season in numbers – Part 2

Reason enough to look back at the past five to nine months. While part one focused on team performances, this time we look at individual players...

Nice to Havertz

Let's start with a man who has set a number of records this season: Kai Havertz. With his 17 goals this term, the 19--year-old shooting star is not only the top goalscorer for the Werkself but also the most prolific player in his age group – never before has a teenager scored so many goals in the Bundesliga.  All of his eleven goals in the second half of the season opened the scoring for the Black and Reds – he even scored the only goal of the game nine times. Both represent the best return in the league.

Full steam ahead Volland

Kevin Volland was the second highest goalscorer for the club – the Werkself number 31 scored eight of his 14 goals in the second half of the season. In addition, he laid on seven of his total of 12 assists after the winter break. That means the man from the Allgäu was involved in 15 goals in his 17 appearances in the second half of the season (eight goals, seven assists) – that was only beaten in the Bundesliga by Wolfsburg's Wout Weghorst (11/5). Alongside Kai Havertz, the 26-year old was the only other Werkself player to play in all 34 Bundesliga fixtures this term.

Brandtastic

One thing is certain: Julian Brandt will leave the Werkself this summer after five and a half years at the club. In his (for the time being) final season at Leverkusen, the 23-year-old once again gave his all: With seven goals and fourteen assists the Germany international had his most successful season so far in his career. In his 33 league appearances (2,675 minutes), 'Jule' set up an impressive 82 shots on goal – the highest number in the league

Wondertah

Jonathan Tah can also look back at the season with pride. Although the 23-year-old missed a game due to a cold, (against FC Nürnberg in the first half of the season), he has otherwise been a black and red ever-present in the Bundesliga in 2018/19 (2,939 minutes) – the Werkself number four played from the start in every game. The central defender scored an impressive three goals and laid on one assist. But that's not all: Tah was the best tackler in the team with 67 per cent of duels won and he was involved in a total of 2,910 moves and passes – that was only surpassed by the two FC Bayern players Joshua Kimmich (3,506) and Thiago Alcantara (3,304).

LuCas GoAlario

In his second season at Leverkusen, Lucas Alario scored the same number as goals as in the previous campaign – that is nine in total (plus three assists). And the Argentinian achieved that despite playing 300 minutes less than in the previous season (2018/19: 27 appearances – 1,255 minutes, 2017/18: 23 appearances – 1,543 minutes). On the final matchday, the Werkself number 13 netted his first hat-trick for Bayer 04.

Dragonist

The title of the most accurate passer for the Werkself is once again an Austrian. After Julian Baumgartlinger headed the rankings for passing with 93.5 per cent completed last season, this time it was Aleksandar Dragovic who found his team-mates most often with an outstanding 94 per cent success rate. Positions two and three for the Werkself were taken by Jonathan Tah (92 per cent) and Kai Havertz (90 per cent).

At a glance:
Goalscorers: Kai Havertz (17), Kevin Volland (14), Lucas Alario (9), Julian Brandt (7), Leon Bailey, Karim Bellarabi (both 5), Jonathan Tah (3), Aleksandar Dragovic, Wendell, Charles Aránguiz (all 2), Mitchell Weiser and Lars Bender (both 1).
Providers: Julian Brandt (14), Kevin Volland (12), Charles Aránguiz (7), Karim Bellarabi (5), Mitchell Weiser, Kai Havertz, Lars Bender (all 4), Lucas Alario (3), Dominik Kohr, Wendell, Leon Bailey (all 2) plus Jonathan Tah and Julian Baumgartlinger (both 1).
Minutes played: Jonathan Tah (2,939), Kai Havertz (2,902), Lukas Hradecky (2,880), Kevin Volland (2,818), Julian Brandt (2,675), Wendell (2,277), Mitchell Weiser (2,112), Sven Bender (1,992), Leon Bailey (1,916), Julian Baumgartlinger (1,557), Lars Bender (1,366), Aleksandar Dragovic (1,331), Lucas Alario (1,255), Tin Jedvaj (1,118), Karim Bellarabi (1,060), Dominik Kohr (966), Ramazan Özcan (180), Isaac Kiese Thelin (175), Paulinho (165), Benjamin Henrichs (64).