This is just too good of a team. Bayer Leverkusen have just set the Bundesliga record of starting off the season unbeaten, and I really think there’s no doubt now over their chances of winning the Bundesliga title.
This really could go down as one of the greatest Bundesliga teams of all-time!
Despite competing in a league that really only Bayern Munich ever win, Bayer Leverkusen are having one of the greatest seasons of all-time in the Bundesliga for they have now gone 33-straight games unbeaten to start off the season and sit a comfortable eight points ahead of Munich. And, to be honest, I think this is just one of the most remarkable title runs ever!
I mean, what hasn’t been said about Bayer Leverkusen side?
Not only are they sitting atop the German league table with an eight-point lead over Bayern Munich with just 11 games to go, but they also have done so in an unbeaten fashion in ALL COMPETITIONS. No, Leverkusen haven’t just gone undefeated in their 23 German League games (which would be remarkable in of its own right), but they have actually gone all the way to the DFB-Pokal Semi-Finals (they face Dusseldorf in a month) and the Europa League Round of 16 (they face Qarabag FC in two weeks) during their unbeaten league run.
No German team in the history of Bundesliga-branded football (aka: since 1962) has gone unbeaten in 33 games to start off a season. That’s how special the job Xabi Alonso has done with this Leverkusen side.
But you know what’s even more special about this team? It’s the fact that they aren’t winning in overwhelming, dominant fashion as Bayern have done in the past, but rather through hard work, grit, and determination.
You can look at the Bundesliga scoring stats and you’ll see that Bayern Munich and the other 16 German clubs lead Leverkusen on total goals scored, individual goals scored, total assists, individual assists, chances created, possession stats, total shots, crosses in the box, sprints, etc.
You’ll look across the board and see that Bayer Leverkusen only leads in maybe two or three of the major statical categories (GA, GD…which are very important ones to be leading in), which is quite rare when you look back on previous Bundesliga champions. Or, as I should really say, the last 11 Bayern Munich champions.
But what may get lost for some people who gloss over the stats is that Bayer may not be leading in all of the categories, but they are within the Top-5 in almost all of them. And that is something that only true champions can do.
Bayer Leverkusen already have the best defense in the Bundesliga behind Jonathan Tah, Alejandro Grimaldo, Josip Stanišić, Edmond Tapsoba, Lukas Hradecky, Piero Hincapié, and Jeremie Frimpong with the best GD and GA, but they also have the 2nd most goals in the Bundesliga, the 4th highest total distance covered, the 3rd most sprints, the 2nd highest possession/game average, the 2nd highest passing accuracy/game average, the 2nd most total shots, the 2nd most shots against the posts, and they have the most clean sheets.
The lowest major statical category Leverkusen falls out of the Top-5 in is intensive runs (which they are 7th), but that’s largely due to the fact that they are controlling every single game they play in and have the 2nd best passing accuracy stats in Germany. In other words, Leverkusen doesn’t really need to run around the pitch to win…but they are still one of the Top-8 best teams in the Bundesliga in doing so.
It’s through their excellence in ALL AREAS of the pitch, not just the attacking or defensive side (Bayern have great offensive stats, but don’t even make the Top-10 of the Bundesliga in work rate), that has propelled this team of youngsters (the average age of the squad who has played in at least 10 matches this season is 27) and castaways into superstar and undefeated status.
And when you have EVEYRONE contributing (the team has nine players with at least 3 goals, 7 players with at least 3 assists, and the defense and goaltending has 15 clean sheets), it just makes all of this hard work even better for I don’t see how Bayern’s disheveled, disjointed team can overcome this well-drilled machine.
I really believe we’re going to have our first new Bundesliga champion in over a dozen years!
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