Julian Brandt is the only Werkself pro to play in all 34 Bundesliga games last season: The 22-year-old forward was in the starting line-up 26 times and he came off the subs bench eight times (2,334 minutes). That makes the number 10 in the Herrlich team one of only four attacking players in the Bundesliga not to miss a single game in the season alongside Niclas Füllkrug (Hannover, 2,387 minutes), Thorgan Hazard (Gladbach, 2,946 minutes) and Andrej Kramaric (Hoffenheim, 2,222 minutes). Brandt also played in all five DFB Cup games. Well done Julian.
Although Julian Brandt did not miss a single game this term, four of his team-mates did have more time on the pitch. To be more exact: Bernd Leno (33 appearances, 2,970 minutes), Kevin Volland (31 appearances, 2,599 minutes), Jonathan Tah (28 appearances, 2,426 minutes) and Sven Bender (29 appearances, 2,347 minutes).
Kevin Volland was the top scorer for the Werkself with 14 goals followed by Lucas Alario, Leon Bailey and Julian Brandt each with nine in the league. Along with Mark Uth (Hoffenheim) and Niclas Füllkurg (Hannover), Volland is the best German striker after Nils Petersen (Freiburg, 15). By contributing to 16 goals (including two assists) Volland has clocked up the most goals and assists for Bayer 04 this term – ahead of Leon Bailey (9 goals, 6 assists), Lucas Alario, Julian Brandt (both 9 goals, 5 assists) plus Kai Havertz (3 goals, 9 assists).
Talking about Kai Havertz. The Werkself player with the most assists became the youngest ever Bundesliga player to set up 10 goals (since detailed stats were first collected in 2004) on matchday 17 at the age of 18 and 189 days. On matchday 30, the Werkself number 29 made his 50th Bundesliga appearance at the age of 18 years and 307 days in the 4-1 win against Eintracht Frankfurt - no other player has reached that landmark at a younger age. In his 54 Bundesliga games to date, Havertz has scored seven goals and provided 15 assists – a fantastic achievement for a midfielder.
With 94 per cent of passes completed, Julian Baumgartlinger provided the most passes in the whole of the Bundesliga (only player with at least 500 passes). Congratulations, Baumi. His fellow defensive midfielder, Charles Aránguiz, had the highest number of touches for the Werkself (2,170) and the third most in the league – and that with just 27 Bundesliga appearances this season.
Leon Bailey had the most efforts on goal for the Werkself (75) and also set up the most shots (61). By participating in 136 shots, he is fourth in the league behind Thorgan Hazard (Gladbach, 149), Robert Lewandowski (FC Bayern, 145) and Andrej Kramaric (Hoffenheim, 137). Moreover: Along with teammate Julian Brandt, the Jamaican scored three of his nine goals this season as a result of counter-attacks. Only Frankfurt’s Luka Jovic and Hannover’s Niclas Füllkrug have struck more often on the break (4 each).
Kevin Volland was, at the same time, the most fouled Bayer 04 player (60 times, shared ninth place in the league) and the player in Black and Read to commit the most fouls (59, shared eighth place in the league). However: Volland also made the most challenges for the Werkself (698 – the eleventh highest in the league) – that represents an average of 23 challenges per game. And the Werkself number 31 also won 43 per cent of his duels.
With 70.2 per cent of challenges won, Jonathan Tah is the best tackler for the Werkself. In the Bundesliga, only Schalke’s Naldo (73.6%) has a higher number of challenges (only player with an average of at least four challenges the game).
After being nominated for the Bundesliga Goal of the Year 2025, Martin Terrier's wonderful strike for the opener against FC Köln is now also up for selection for the ARD Sportschau Goal of the Month award for December 2025. Bayer 04 fans have until 19:00 CET on 10 January to vote for the French forward.
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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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"In every ending lies a new beginning" is a well-known saying. This phrase has probably never been more apt at Bayer 04. After winning the Bundesliga in 2023/24 and finishing as runners-up in 2024/25, the summer was the most eventful ever in terms of transfers. Over ten players and the coach, including the coaching staff, left the club. A lot of the heroes of the double-winning side began a new chapter. It was the end of an era. And at the same time the beginning of a new, very exciting and promising chapter for Leverkusen. The Werkself welcomed more than a dozen new arrivals, including experienced title-winners and young talents, to build a new "foundation for a successful team capable of winning titles" under the Bayer Cross, as managing director sport Simon Rolfes put it. A new spirit, a new hunger, a new story was to be created. Bayer04.de looks back at the first few months of this story and the final act of the preseason.
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43 points at the end of the last Bundesliga season were not only more than ever before for the Bayer 04 Women, but also led to a record fourth-place finish. That was followed by a Hinrunde with many more victories, but also some setbacks. In an interview with bayer04.de, sporting director Achim Feifel takes stock at the end of the year.
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With their wonderful goals, Martin Terrier and Florian Wirtz are up for the Bundesliga Goal of the Year 2025. Voting for fans will run exclusively via the official Bundesliga app until Sunday, 4 January.
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