Bayer Leverkusen are just four points behind Bayern Munich at the top of the Bundesliga despite making a slow start to their title defence.
By scoring twice in the opening eight minutes of Friday’s away win over Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen picked up where they left off before the Bundesliga’s winter break. If the first half of the season saw Xabi Alonso’s team struggle for consistency, there are signs that The Black and Reds will be back to their best in the second half.
Leverkusen once again look like the side that surged to an historic maiden Bundesliga title last season. They have won nine matches in-a-row in all competitions and have reduced the gap to Bayern Munich at the top of the table to four points. While many were quick to declare this season’s German title race over, Leverkusen are making up ground on their rivals.
While Leverkusen have rediscovered their form, they have evolved since last season. They needed to. It wasn’t sustainable for them to rely on so many late goals and comebacks to earn results. Last season was exhilarating and will be talked about at the Bay Arena for decades to come, but it couldn’t continue.
And so Alonso has focused much of his efforts this season on giving Leverkusen more control. They are averaging less possession per match in the Bundesliga, but this has been designed to make the defending champions more difficult to play against. Against Dortmund, Leverkusen had just 30% of the ball, yet remained relatively solid.
“We did well with the ball, but we also did it really well without the ball,” said Alonso after the landmark win at the Westfalenstadion. “We did not concede much. It is a development of our game that we can compete in this way, to play here with this discipline against a top, top team in Europe.”
This tactical evolution has been clearest in the Champions League where Leverkusen have kept three clean sheets in three home games. Alonso has harnessed the chaos of last season and used it to turn Leverkusen into a more rounded outfit. They still boast one of the strongest attacks in Germany, but the foundations are now stronger than they were last term.
Edmond Tapsoba was particularly impressed away to Dortmund, not just giving Leverkusen presence at the back, but also having a direct hand in two of the three goals. The Burkina Faso international is physically imposing, but also has the technical ability to get his team moving quickly out from the back. Alonso’s approach wouldn’t work without him.
At the top of the pitch, Patrik Schick is currently in the form of his life, averaging a Bundesliga goal every 51 minutes. Last season, Alonso primarily favoured a front three with Jonas Hofmann and Florian Wirtz in behind Victor Boniface as the centre forward. This season, Leverkusen have shifted to something closer to a 4-4-2 and this has benefited Schick as a penalty box poacher.
Of course, it would be misleading to suggest Leverkusen’s 4-4-2 is an orthodox one. They push Jeremie Frimpong and Álex Grimaldo extremely high to such an extent that they effectible operate as wide forwards. Nathan Tella has the positional freedom to exploit space wherever he can find it while Wirtz poses an all-round threat.
Wirtz could reportedly sign a new contract to stay at Bayer Leverkusen until 2027 despite interest from across Europe. Widely considered the club’s best young talent since Kai Havertz, and possibly even Michael Ballack before him, the 21-year-old has made another step up recently, registering 11 goal involvements in his last eight games – albeit he was only used from the bench in the game at Dortmund, hence his face is missing from the graphic above.
Back-to-back home fixtures against Mainz and Borussia Monchengladbach this week give Leverkusen the opportunity to build more momentum and apply more pressure on Bayern Munich. Alonso has likely circled his team’s next meeting with the Bavarians on 15th February as a potentially season-defining encounter.
The Champions League is another arena where the ever-improving The Black and Reds could make their mark in the second half of the season. Only Liverpool and Barcelona have more points than Leverkusen after six matches of the new-look League Phase with their place in the last 16 all but assured.
Leverkusen could take advantage of an extremely open field to make a deep run. Barcelona and Real Madrid both have their flaws. Manchester City are a shadow of the team that won the Treble in 2023 while Paris Saint-Germain are in a transitional phase under Luis Enrique. Why can’t Leverkusen win the Champions League?
Alonso is widely considered football’s next great manager and Bayer Leverkusen have been moulded in the Spaniard’s image. Having played under Pep Guardiola, Carlo Ancelotti and José Mourinho among others, Alonso has had a wide-ranging education in the game. This is shining through in how he is shaping Leverkusen.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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