On December 20, 2023, in the 16th round of the Bundesliga, Leverkusen defeated the relegation team Bochum 4:0 at home, achieving 25 unbeaten games in all competitions and accumulating 42 points, one game less than Bayern. With 4 more points, they secured the Bundesliga half-season championship one round ahead of schedule. The picture shows Leverkusen players thanking the fans after the game. (Christof Koepsel/Getty Images)
[The Epoch Times, December 24, 2023](Comprehensive report by Epoch Times reporter Li Rongshi) After the 16th round of the Bundesliga, there will be a three-week winter break. “Pharmaceutical factory” Leverkusen broke the historical record with an unbeaten record of 25 games in all competitions and secured the Bundesliga half-time championship one round ahead of schedule. They have also become the only unbeaten team in Europe’s top five leagues so far this season. This puts huge pressure on defending champion Bayern Munich to win their 12th consecutive championship.
The five major European leagues are very lively this season. Leverkusen, Girona (La Liga) and Aston Villa (Premier League) have attracted great attention. Fans are looking forward to these three “civilian” teams. Able to break the previous pattern in their respective leagues. At present, the team most promising to create a miracle is Bayer Leverkusen led by 42-year-old Spanish coach Xabi Alonso.
On December 20, 2023, in the 16th round of the Bundesliga, Leverkusen defeated the relegation team Bochum 4:0 at home, achieving 25 unbeaten games in all competitions and accumulating 42 points, one game less than Bayern. With 4 more points, they secured the Bundesliga half-season championship one round ahead of schedule. The picture shows the slogan of the Bayer Leverkusen team at the scene. (Christof Koepsel/Getty Images)
Among the five major European leagues, the Premier League, La Liga and Serie A all have 20 teams, so there will be 38 rounds of games in a season; while the Bundesliga and Ligue 1 both have only 18 teams, and a team only needs to play 34 rounds throughout the season. . With four fewer games, they get a rare three weeks of repair time during the Christmas and New Year periods.
On December 20, 2023, in the 16th round of the Bundesliga, Leverkusen defeated the relegation team Bochum 4:0 at home, achieving 25 unbeaten games in all competitions and accumulating 42 points, one game less than Bayern. With 4 more points, they secured the Bundesliga half-season championship one round ahead of schedule. The picture shows Leverkusen fans at the scene. (Christof Koepsel/Getty Images)
The latest round of the Bundesliga – Round 16, Leverkusen defeated the relegation team Bochum 4-0 at home, accumulating 42 points and continuing to occupy the “leadership” position, one more than Bayern, which has one game less. 4 points, thereby locking the Bundesliga half-time championship one round in advance, and at the same time extending the historical unbeaten record in all competitions to 25 games. Previously in the 1982-1983 season, Hamburg had created a record of unbeaten Bundesliga games in the first 24 games.
Expected to win the Bundesliga title for the first time
In the 119-year history of Leverkusen, they have never won the Bundesliga championship. The only domestic honor they have won is the German Cup championship in the 1992-1993 season. It has been 30 years since then. It is this team that has been working hard to “fight for the fourth place” in the past. This season, under the leadership of young coach Alonso, it has undergone radical changes.
On December 20, 2023, in the 16th round of the Bundesliga, Leverkusen defeated the relegation team Bochum 4:0 at home, achieving 25 unbeaten games in all competitions and accumulating 42 points, one game less than Bayern. With 4 more points, they secured the Bundesliga half-season championship one round ahead of schedule. The picture shows the moments of players from both sides fighting during the game. (Christof Koepsel/Getty Images)
This season, they beat Bayern to lead the standings in 15 of the 16 rounds. In the 16 league rounds, the “Pharmaceutical Factory” had a record of 13 wins and 3 draws, scoring 42 points and averaging 2.625 points per game. This is the same period in the history of Leverkusen. The highest score, breaking the team’s previous record of 37 points set in the 2013-2014 season, is also the highest score averaged by a team in the five major leagues this season.
On December 20, 2023, in the 16th round of the Bundesliga, Leverkusen defeated the relegation team Bochum 4:0 at home, achieving 25 unbeaten games in all competitions and accumulating 42 points, one game less than Bayern. With 4 more points, they secured the Bundesliga half-season championship one round ahead of schedule. The picture shows the moments of players from both sides fighting during the game. (Christof Koepsel/Getty Images)
Leverkusen is also the only team in the top five leagues that has not lost a game this season, a feat that puts countless top clubs to shame. They have a record of 22 wins and 3 draws in all competitions, scoring 81 goals, conceding only 18 goals, and keeping 11 clean sheets. at present. “Pharmaceutical Factory” is advancing simultaneously on three fronts: Bundesliga, Europa League and German Cup.
On December 20, 2023, in the 16th round of the Bundesliga, Leverkusen defeated the relegation team Bochum 4:0 at home, achieving 25 unbeaten games in all competitions and accumulating 42 points, one game less than Bayern. With 4 more points, they secured the Bundesliga half-season championship one round ahead of schedule. The picture shows the moments of players from both sides fighting during the game. (Christof Koepsel/Getty Images)
Achieving such an achievement is a “myth” for Leverkusen. Previously, Bayern has always been the dominant player in the Bundesliga and has won “11 consecutive championships”. Many teams including Dortmund have found it difficult to shake its status. This season, Leverkusen’s rise has given people hope of breaking the “Southern Star”‘s monopoly on the Bundesliga’s “salad plate”.
Everyone in the pharmaceutical factory is trying their best to be the first
To win the Bundesliga half-season championship with an unbeaten record, Leverkusen relied on its strong offensive power. In the first 12 rounds of the league this season, Leverkusen scored at least 2 goals in each game, which is also a new Bundesliga record. Afterwards, the “Pharmaceutical Factory” was tied 1:1 by Dortmund and Stuttgart, but after that, they scored 3 consecutive goals. Above the ball, they defeated Frankfurt and Bochum. Scoring 46 goals in 16 rounds, Leverkusen also set a record for goals scored in the first 16 rounds of the Bundesliga in team history.
On December 20, 2023, in the 16th round of the Bundesliga, Leverkusen defeated the relegation team Bochum 4:0 at home, achieving 25 unbeaten games in all competitions and accumulating 42 points, one game less than Bayern. With 4 more points, they secured the Bundesliga half-season championship one round ahead of schedule. The picture shows the moments of players from both sides fighting during the game. (Christof Koepsel/Getty Images)
What’s even more terrifying is that Leverkusen’s offense does not rely on a single star, but is completed through teamwork. Among the team, only Nigerian center Boniface has scored double digits in the Bundesliga – 10 goals, but as many as five people have assisted more than five times. Among the other 17 Bundesliga teams, Bayern has the most players who can assist more than 5 times, but there are only 3 players.
On December 20, 2023, in the 16th round of the Bundesliga, Leverkusen defeated the relegation team Bochum 4:0 at home, achieving 25 unbeaten games in all competitions and accumulating 42 points, one game less than Bayern. With 4 more points, they secured the Bundesliga half-season championship one round ahead of schedule. The picture shows the moments of players from both sides fighting during the game. (Christof Koepsel/Getty Images)
In addition, Leverkusen averaged 6.8 shots on target per game, second only to Borussia Monchengladbach’s 7.4. Center Boniface ranks first in the Bundesliga with 75 shots, 9 more than second-ranked Leipzig’s Openda, and 13 more than Bayern striker Kane; his expected goals are only lower than the top scorer. Kane.
In addition, Leverkusen also has a strong midfield team. They touch the ball more than 820 times per game, the most in the Bundesliga, surpassing Bayern, which is known for passing and controlling football. Leverkusen midfielder Xhaka ranks first in the Bundesliga in average touches of the ball per game; his running distance of 189.7 kilometers per game also ranks first in the Bundesliga.
On December 20, 2023, in the 16th round of the Bundesliga, Leverkusen defeated the relegation team Bochum 4:0 at home, achieving 25 unbeaten games in all competitions and accumulating 42 points, one game less than Bayern. With 4 more points, they secured the Bundesliga half-season championship one round ahead of schedule. The picture shows Leverkusen’s 42-year-old Spanish coach Xabi Alonso. (Christof Koepsel/Getty Images)
Leverkusen’s Frimpong and Wirtz have 587 and 474 sprints respectively, ranking first and third in the Bundesliga respectively. Leverkusen goalkeeper Hradski also tops the Bundesliga in save percentage. It can be seen that although the Leverkusen players are not famous enough, they are doing their best to use their own strengths to help the team.
Bundesliga standings for the 2023-2024 season: the top ten teams after the 16th round. (The Epoch Times)
Three strong confrontations determine the outcome
Next, the Bundesliga will enter the winter break, with one game left before the real half-way round of 17. In mid-January next year, in the 17th round of the Bundesliga, Leverkusen will face the weak Augsburg, and is expected to tie the Bundesliga’s historical record of unbeaten half-time. In the history of the Bundesliga, the half-game unbeaten streak has occurred 6 times, the earliest being Hamburg in the 1982-1983 season; after that, Bayern had it 3 times, and Leverkusen and Dortmund have also done it.
Completing the entire season with an unbeaten record is a great achievement that has never been achieved in the history of the Bundesliga. For Leverkusen, that is not their goal. After all, they are currently only 4 points ahead of Bayern, who have played one less game. If the Bundesliga overlord wins the make-up match, “Pharmaceutical Factory” will only have a 1-point advantage. As Alonso said, if they slack off even a little bit, the chance won’t come back.
Next year, there will be an away game against Leipzig on January 20, a home game against Bayern on February 10, and an away game against Dortmund on April 20. These three strong confrontations may determine whether Leverkusen can have the last laugh this season; as for whether it can To win the championship with an undefeated record, you have to leave it to fate.
Editor in charge: Zheng Huang#
2023-12-24 01:11:40
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