Unbeaten in 37 Bundesliga away games: Werkself aim to extend record in Munich

Bayer 04 suffered their last defeat on the road on the final matchday of the 2022/23 season. Despite the 3-0 defeat at VfL Bochum on 27 May 2023, the Werkself, who played almost 90 minutes with a man down after an early red card for Amine Adli, finished sixth and qualified for the UEFA Europa League. VfL Bochum avoided relegation with that win.

Then came the 2023/24 season, which was to become the most successful in Bayer 04's history. After the successful opener against RB Leipzig (3-2), the second league game took the Black and Reds to Borussia Mönchengladbach. A convincing 3-0 victory on 26 August marked the start of an incredible away run that threatened to break several times over the next two and a half years. And yet it always survived. Because the Werkself never gave up. NEVER. No team scored more goals in stoppage time in the double-winning season than Bayer 04. 18 goals in total, including eight in the Bundesliga, were scored after the 90th minute under the direction of Xabi Alonso. Leverkusen became ‘Laterkusen’.

In the Double-winning season: masters of the last minutes

Bayern were the first to experience this. On matchday 4, Bayern Munich appeared to have won the game at the Allianz Arena after Leon Goretzka's late strike at 2-1 on 86 minutes. No way. A converted penalty from Exequiel Palacios in the fourth minute of stoppage time secured a point for the visitors. It was also the Argentinian who ensured Bayer 04 were top at the end of the Hinrunde and a successful start to the new year with his winner in the 1-0 victory at FC Augsburg on 13 January 2024 - again in the fourth minute of added time. The Black and Reds went into the Rückrunde with a one-point lead over Bayern Munich.

Just one week later, the next three points away from home came late on, this time thanks to a winner in stoppage time in a thrilling top match at RB Leipzig (3-2). After some convincing away wins at Darmstadt (2-0), FC Köln (2-0) and Freiburg (3-2), the game at Union Berlin on matchday 28 was again really exciting. This time, Bayer 04 needed the extended stoppage time in the first half to score the 1-0 winner. The ninth win in a row was a new club record.

More importantly, however, because Bayern Munich lost 3-2 at Heidenheim, the Werkself had the chance to become champions of Germany under their own steam the following weekend at home to Werder Bremen. And, as is well known, they did not miss out on this opportunity. In view of the triumph following the 5-0 win against Werder Bremen on 14 April 2024, the focus on the continuation of two runs did not fade into the background. Alonso's team also wanted to remain unbeaten in the remaining five league games at home and away. One more time it was going to be pretty close.

Just one week after the Werder Bremen match, the away run seemed to be coming to an end. Borussia Dortmund had taken a late lead against the German champions elect. But Bayer 04 countered again in ‘Xabi time’: FC Bayern loanee Josip Stanisic headed home from a corner to make it 1-1 (90+7’) and caused boundless jubilation among the Werkself away support. The Black and Reds remained unbeaten for the 45th match in a row.

goal record and 50 games unbeaten

Two weeks later Alejandro Grimaldo, Robert Andrich and Co. impressed in a 5-1 win in Frankfurt. Bayer 04 set a new club record with the emphatic victory at Eintracht: With 82 goals, they surpassed the old record of 80 goals from the 2021/22 season, and the Werkself also made their last Bundesliga away game of the 2023/24 season another clear-cut affair. The visitors won 5-0 in Bochum - Grimaldo scored the last away goal in stoppage time in typical Bayer style. Leverkusen remained unbeaten for the 50th time in a row.

In the following 2024/25 season, the Werkself simply picked up where they left off in Bochum in their first away league match: At Borussia Mönchengladbach, Bayer 04 won the opening game 3-2 as champions of Germany, with Florian Wirtz scoring the winning goal in the eleventh minute of stoppage time from the penalty spot. After another win at Hoffenheim (4-1), the Black and Reds remained unbeaten again on matchday 5 at Bayern Munich (1-1). In the following duels in Bremen (2-2) and Bochum (1-1), it was also ‘only’ enough for a draw - in both games, Bayer 04 exceptionally conceded an equaliser very late on.

Domination in Frankfurt, thriller in Stuttgart

The Leverkusen team proved they are not only capable of last-minute goals, but also a lightning start at the start of the 2025 season in Dortmund: Nathan Tella scored after just 26 seconds. In the end, Bayer 04 took home three points with a 3-2 victory - and remained unbeaten away from home for the 25th time in the league. The Black and Reds put in arguably their strongest performance of the season away from home in the top match at Eintracht Frankfurt on matchday 24. Within eight minutes, the dominant Leverkusen side pulled away to a 3-0 lead with goals from Tella (26’), Nordi Mukiele (29’) and Schick (33’). Aleix Garcia (62') made it 4-1 in the second half.

The next appearance away from the BayArena was again successful, but much more spectacular because it was much closer: At VfB Stuttgart, the Werkself had to swallow a two-goal deficit twice, came back twice and topped off the incredible comeback - once again in stoppage time - with Schick's winning goal at 4-3 (90+4’). Shortly before the end of the season, the great away run almost came to an end. In Freiburg on matchday 32, Bayer 04 looked like certain losers until the 82nd minute, trailing 2-0. Then Wirtz reduced the deficit with his tenth goal of the season. Just three minutes into added time, Jonathan Tah saved the run with his goal for the final score of 2-2, which also held up on the final matchday with the same result in Mainz.

only two european top clubs with longer runs

Two whole seasons without a single away defeat - apart from Bayer 04, only AC Milan in Serie A have ever achieved that in the five major European leagues. AC Milan remained unbeaten in 34 away games in 1991/92 and 1992/93. In October 1993, the Rossoneri lost away from home for the first time in 38 games without defeat. Only Paris Saint-Germain can boast an even longer away run: The French side were unbeaten in 39 Ligue 1 games between February 2023 and April 2025.

If the Werkself remain unbeaten in Munich on Saturday, they would catch up with AC Milan. So far this season, the Black and Reds have won two and drawn one of their three away matches. After the 3-3 draw at Werder Bremen (still under former coach Erik ten Hag), Leverkusen have won their last two away games under Kasper Hjulmand with a 2-1 scoreline at FC St. Pauli and 4-3 at Mainz 05.

The run now stands at 37 away games without defeat. Bayer 04 won 25 of them, 12 ended in a draw. The Werkself scored 87 goals in these 37 matches, an average of 2.4 goals per game. Incidentally, the skipper Andrich has already reached 38 consecutive unbeaten games with Bayer 04, overtaking the previous record holders and former FC Bayern players Philipp Lahm and Dante.

For Simon Rolfes, the impressive away run is "a sign of strength". The Bayer 04 managing director sport says: "What I like is that you also have to overcome hurdles away from home. These are also difficult moments when you sometimes have to withstand pressure. And I think that's a development we've made in recent years. We are simply more clinical than we used to be."

A very important factor is Bayer 04 fans also playing a major role in the club's successful away performances. The number of Black and Red supporters travelling to Mönchengladbach, Dortmund, Bremen and Munich has increased enormously in recent years, and the support from our fans at the Bundesliga stadiums is fantastic. Away or at home - that is reality in action at Bayer 04. Once again on Saturday night in Munich, when 6,000 fans will support the Werkself from the away section...