The new Invincibles: Why Bayer Leverkusen have been the best team in the world this season

If you’re a football fan, you’ve either seen, read about, or at least heard of the record-breaking 2023/2024 season that Bayer Leverkusen have had. In Germany, they call them ‘Die Werkself’, i.e. the Factory Eleven, due to the pharmaceutical origins of the club – in hindsight, a fitting nickname for a set of players who now seem ruthlessly methodical when producing results. Since being founded in 1904, this has been their most successful campaign, and perhaps one of the most impressive seasons ever seen in football history.

Consistent League Form
The Bundesliga’s 61-year history has never seen a club finish an entire season undefeated. That is, until Xabi Alonso and his men came and obliterated the record. In the end, they made it look easy, exemplified by results such as a 3-0 win against title rivals Bayern Munich in February. It’s the kind of season you’d only expect to have if you booted up career mode on FIFA and set the difficulty level on beginner. 34 games, 28 wins, and 0 losses. Yes, you read that right. Zero defeats in three-thousand-and-sixty minutes of football (plus added time, of course). One cannot leave out stoppage time when discussing Leverkusen this season, who scored a whopping eighteen goals after the 89th minute, five of which were decisive in keeping their invincible streak alive.

‘The Xabi Effect’
Xabi Alonso, one of the greatest midfielders of his generation, has returned to showcase his ability once again, only this time he’s channelling it through his extensive knowledge of the beautiful game. His 3-4-2-1 formation is one to be feared by any opponent, with wing-backs Alejandro Grimaldo and Jeremie Frimpong flourishing under his tactics and causing all kinds of trouble from their wide positions; together, the pair managed 22 assists and an impressive 19 goals between them in the league this season. Other players who have impressed include the likes of Florian Wirtz, Victor Boniface, and ex-Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka – all deserving of praise alongside their other teammates. Whilst Xabi can claim credit for bringing out the best in his players, he can simultaneously relish in the fact that he has won the club their first Bundesliga trophy in 30 years.

The Spaniard’s achievements go beyond his Bundesliga exploits. It wouldn’t be fair to leave out Leverkusen’s UEFA Europa League (UEL) and DFB-Pokal campaigns this season either. The only loss that the men in black and red suffered was in the recent UEL final, an unforeseen 3-0 defeat at the hands of Atalanta courtesy of a magical hat-trick by Ademola Lookman. The result doesn’t do justice to their campaign, however, which they proved by bouncing back just two days later in the German Cup final with a 1-0 victory that they held onto impressively after going down to 10 men right before the half-time whistle. This confirmed an undefeated domestic double for Xabi and his players in a season where they have looked as if they could beat just about anyone.