After just over a full season without defeat, Bayer Leverkusen’s unbeaten streak in the Bundesliga was ended at 35 games by RB Leipzig on Saturday. We look at the numbers behind their staggering run.
The streak is over.
Prior to Saturday, Bayer Leverkusen had not been defeated in the Bundesliga since the final matchday of the 2022-23 season when they lost 3-0 to Bochum.
Xabi Alonso’s side shocked the world when they went on to produce the first ever undefeated Bundesliga campaign on their way to lifting the Meisterschale in 2023-24. It was a historic season for Leverkusen, winning their first ever Bundesliga title, and becoming only the fifth different club to win the league and DFB-Pokal double since the Bundesliga was founded, after Bayern Munich (13 times), Köln, Werder Bremen and Borussia Dortmund.
They also went incredibly close to a remarkable treble, reaching the Europa League final only to lose 3-0 to Atalanta in Dublin. Not only did that deny them another trophy, but it brought an end to an incredible 51-game unbeaten streak in all competitions.
Their undefeated status in league football remained though, and Leverkusen started the 2024-25 season firstly by winning the DFL-Supercup against Stuttgart on penalties, and then by securing a dramatic late 3-2 win at Borussia Monchengladbach on Matchday 1 of the Bundesliga. Florian Wirtz’s successful rebound after a saved penalty in the 101st minute gave them the three points at Borussia-Park.
However, in just the second game of their title defence, Leverkusen were undone on home soil by RB Leipzig, ending their 35-game unbeaten streak 462 days after their last loss in the league.
To rub salt into the wounds, Alonso’s men were 2-0 up and seemingly cruising against Leipzig at the BayArena before a Kevin Kampl strike and two goals from Loïs Openda sealed their fate and ended their run.
It was particularly galling for Leverkusen given they had 26 shots to Leipzig’s eight, recorded almost twice the expected goals (xG) total of their opponents (2.23 to 1.14) and had 56 touches in the opposition box to Leipzig’s 13.
Openda’s 80th-minute winner was a bitter pill to swallow, and provided a certain irony given the number of times Leverkusen have come from behind to inflict late heartache on their opponents in the last year.
But the fans shouldn’t cry because it’s over; they should celebrate that it happened.
In the end, Leverkusen agonisingly fell one match short of matching Hamburg for the second longest unbeaten run in Bundesliga history (36 from 1982 to 1983), though ended well short of Bayern Munich’s record of 53 games undefeated from 2012 to 2014.
It was a remarkable run from a team that was in the relegation zone when Alonso arrived in October 2022. Across those 35 games, Leverkusen won 29 and drew just six, scoring 92 goals from 77.7 xG for and conceding 26 times from 31.7 xG against.
Leverkusen have become notorious for their late goals, scoring an astounding 19 times after the 80th minute in Bundesliga games since the start of last season, with nine of those goals coming in second-half stoppage time. Of those nine, four were match-winning goals and three were equalisers, with the other two merely adding further gloss to victories.
Now that their streak has been broken, though, is it time for Leverkusen fans to panic? After all, in both league games this season they have seen a 2-0 lead slip, the difference being they scored a decisive third against Gladbach rather than conceding one as they did against Leipzig.
It’s something Alonso needs to address, but wider concerns seem unnecessary for now. As mentioned, Leverkusen can consider themselves unlucky not to have beaten Leipzig having been on top in almost every metric. The reason unbeaten runs like theirs are so rare is that football can so often throw up games where things just don’t go your way, while coming up against a lethal striker such as Openda on the day clearly didn’t help.
The Opta supercomputer has readjusted its thinking following Leverkusen’s loss, though. Prior to the 2024-25 campaign, the defending champions were seen as the likeliest team to win the Bundesliga, given a 48.2% chance, ahead of Bayern at 21.7%.
However, after two wins from two for Vincent Kompany’s side, Bayern have now leapfrogged Leverkusen, regaining the title in 32.0% of sims, while Alonso is now only able to make it back-to-back league wins 30.3% of the time.
The two teams meet in Munich in late September, which should be as fascinating as both clashes were last season.
Prior to that, Leverkusen travel to Hoffenheim before hosting Wolfsburg in the league, either side of starting their UEFA Champions League campaign away at Feyenoord. On paper, they are ideal opportunities to get themselves back on the horse and prove that the defeat to Leipzig was merely a hiccup.
To go on a 35-game unbeaten run in the league is a tremendous feat, and a sign of a team with substance that is here to stay. This is their first setback in a while, though, and how Bayer Leverkusen respond to a rare defeat could be what defines this season’s title race in Germany.
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