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Neither City, Nor Madrid, Nor PSG: This Is the ONLY Undefeated Team in All of Europe
Xabi Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen is on fire! They've just hit a whopping 31 consecutive games without a loss, making them the only team in all of Europe that's still riding the invincible wave this season. With an impressive record of 27 wins, 4 draws, 93 goals scored, and only 22 conceded, they're not just turning heads but also breaking records. The Bundesliga title is within their grasp, and it would be their first in history.
Their performance so far is off the charts. No one even comes close to their stats, not in the big five leagues or any other national tournaments among the 54 UEFA associations. Not in Germany, not in Spain, not in England, not in France, not in Italy, not in the Netherlands, not in Portugal, not in Belgium, not in Turkey – nowhere!
There are four teams that haven't lost in their respective leagues, but have faced defeats in other competitions. This includes PSV, unbeaten and leading in the Dutch league, but with two losses; Differdange from Luxembourg, which has lost one out of its 20 matches; Pyunik Yerevan from Armenia, which has fallen in two out of its 27 matches; and The New Saint from Wales, with three setbacks in its journey.
Even the likes of Real Madrid, Liverpool, Paris Saint-Germain, or Inter, the leaders of the Spanish LaLiga, English Premier League, French Ligue 1, and Italian Serie A, respected both at home and abroad, or Manchester City, the reigning champion in almost everything, have experienced at least one defeat in this season.
Not even Bayer Leverkusen, led by Xabi Alonso towards greater heights. They still have to seal the deal. They haven't fallen in an official competition since May 27, 2023, the last match of the previous season when they were defeated 3-0 by Bochum. They've only lost three out of their last 51 matches across all tournaments.
Their latest victory this past Saturday against Bayern Munich, whom they defeated 3-0, unleashed them even more, bold and astonishing in the eyes of the entire European football community, extending their lead at the top
of the German league to five points over the second-placed rival. They are now deemed as favorites to clinch their first-ever Bundesliga title.
Since 2015-16, with Bayern Munich at 56 points in the first 21 matchdays, no one had been as prolific at this stage of the German league as the current Leverkusen. Moreover, since the introduction of three points for a win, there's only one other example above them: Bayern, also in 2013-14, with 59 points.
The Leverkusen now has 55 points. It hadn't been in the top spot at this point since 2009-10. Back then, it had 45 points, ten less than it does now. In the 21st round of the last season, it was tenth with 27 points, less than half of what it's dazzling with now – their fast and offensive football style, playing with three center-backs, two wing-backs doubling as wingers, and an overflowing and winning ambition.
The best streak in its 120-year history
Leading the Bundesliga with 17 wins and four draws, Xabi Alonso's team has not only excelled there. They've conquered everything in the Europa League (1-2 and 5-1 against Molde, 4-0 and 0-2 against Hacken, and 5-1 and 0-1 against Qarabag), and they are now waiting for their opponent in the round of 16 from the current intermediate round of the competition. In the German Cup, they are set to face Fortuna Dusseldorf in the semifinals after winning and progressing through four rounds.
It's the best unbeaten streak in Leverkusen's history, spanning up to 120 years since its foundation.
The sequence of most consecutive victories, achieved between April 28 and October 1, 1978, still remains unbeaten. Xabi Alonso reached fourteen victories between September 21 and November 30, 2023, until his 1-1 draw at the Bay Arena with Borussia Dortmund.
Their 93 goals scored are a clear statement of intent from the team, finding the net three or more times in 20 out of their 31 matches. In nine of those, they scored four or more goals. The only exception was a single match on January 27, ending in a goalless draw against Borussia Monchengladbach.
At the same time, they've only conceded 22 goals. They've kept their own goal intact in 15 out of their 31 encounters, almost half of their matches.
And only five teams have scored more than one goal against them: Leipzig, on two occasions, in two separate 3-2 matches; Bayern Munich, in a 2-2 draw; Stuttgart, in the last and agonizing round of the German Cup (3-2); Hoffenheim (2-3); and Sandhausen (2-5).
An 80-million-euro splurge on signings
They went big this summer with an investment of 80 million euros. The goal scorer Victor Boniface came in at 20.5 million euros from Union Saint Gilloise, Nathan Tella at 23.3 from Southampton, Granit Xhaka at 15 from Arsenal, Arthur Augusto at seven from Mineiro, Jonas Hofmann at 10 from Borussia Moenchengladbach, and goalkeeper Matej Kovar at five from the Manchester United's youth team, soaking up their expenses in the market.
They didn't have to pay anything for Alejandro Grimaldo, the most decisive full-back in European football at the moment, who came for free from Benfica. Nor for Josip Stanisic, from Bayern Munich. Not even for the Colombian Gustavo Puerta.
Already in the squad were goalkeeper Lucas Hadrecky; defenders Jonathan Tah, Edmond Tapsoba, and Piero Hincapié; the lightning-fast Jeremie Frimpong, 23 years old, with eight goals and nine assists in this campaign;
Argentine midfielder Exequiel Palacios, and the brilliant Florian Wirtz, who, at just 20 years old, has contributed with eight goals and 15 assists this season.
This winter, to reaffirm their ambition and goals, they've brought in Borja Iglesias, the forward from Betis, on loan until the end of the season with an option to buy from the German club. This move aims to bolster the team, especially with Víctor Boniface's 16 goals, who is currently sidelined due to injury, along with Patrick Schick and Amine Adli's six goals each, Nathan Tella and Adam Hlozek's five goals each... and Álex Grimaldo's 10 goals for Bayer Leverkusen, inching closer to Xabi Alonso's club history.
