bayern leverkusen FC?

So far, the only teams to hold the league leaders are second-placed Bayern in Munich, fourth-placed Borussia Dortmund (1-1) and third-placed Stuttgart (1-1), as well as local rivals Gladbach (0-0) – the only blank the Werkself have drawn all season.

There have been plenty of impressive showings throughout the campaign, like their 3-0 derby success over Cologne, a win by the same score in Bremen, a 4-0 thumping of Bochum. But the pick of the lot is undoubtedly their 3-0 victory at home to Bayern.

Not only was it a statement scoreline, but it didn’t even flatter Alonso’s side. They were dominant at the BayArena, stuck to their plans and restricted the defending champions to next to nothing. Their xG of 0.27 was Bayern’s lowest since the stat was introduced five years ago.

Watch: Leverkusen breeze past Bayern

They followed that up with a workmanlike win in Heidenheim and a battling 2-1 triumph of Mainz on Matchday 23 to move onto 61 points – 11 clear of Bayern. Both that and their 59 goals scored are club records with 23 games played, while only two teams (both Bayern under Pep Guardiola in 2015/16 and 2013/14) have ever had a better points haul at this stage of a Bundesliga season.

Impressive in itself, but it does not end there. Add in the fact that Leverkusen also came through the UEFA Europa League group stage with a perfect record of six wins from six – only the 12th club to achieve a 100 percent record in the competition – and are also through to the semi-finals of the DFB Cup after four more victories, then it’s even more remarkable.

Die Werkself remain the only team across Europe’s 54 top divisions yet to lose a competitive fixture in 2023/24 and have now set a new record off 33 straight competitive games unbeaten, beating the mark of 32 set by Hansi Flick’s treble winning Bayern side in 2019 and 2020.

Watch: Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen in pole position

2) The ideal squad in Alonso’s image

It was Bayern who stole the international headlines over the summer transfer window with the signing of England captain Harry Kane. It meant Leverkusen’s excellent work in the market went somewhat under the radar and it was more the departure of last season’s top scorer Moussa Diaby that initially caught the eye.

Yet they still had budget left over from that Diaby deal after completing four of their main transfers in. Switzerland captain Xhaka arrived from Arsenal with a wealth of experience and the ability to act as Alonso’s voice in midfield. Jonas Hofmann is a proven Bundesliga operator with some of the best attacking stats of recent years, including the most Fantasy points of any player in 2022/23 from a middling Gladbach side.

Alejandro Grimaldo came on a free transfer – yes, free! – from Benfica to fill the once unsettled left wing-back berth. And up front, Victor Boniface arrived at the BayArena on the back of top-scoring in the Europa League last year.

Watch: Leverkusen’s new boys in a new light

A tactical look at Alonso’s Leverkusen

All have slotted straight in and made immediate impacts in a team that has gelled together. Alonso fielded the same starting XI in 10 out of the first 16 Bundesliga games up to the winter break, utilising the depth of his squad in the European and cup games, which were also all won. It shows he has cover in every position if required.

Even with the Africa Cup of Nations denying him three players in Odilon Kossounou, Edmond Tapsoba – two of the three first-choice defenders – and Amine Adli, plus a lengthy injury to Boniface, Alonso still showed he had a plan B that would be the envy of many coach’s plan As.

Patrik Schick, joint-top scorer at UEFA Euro 2020, gave a timely reminder of what he’s capable of with his hat-trick against Bochum, although the Czech striker is still yet to get back to his best after a long layoff.

The club then also reacted to Boniface’s injury with the loan signing of Spain international striker Borja Iglesias as they prepare to continue their push for trophies on all three fronts.

“We’ve got a couple of really good new players, Granit, Jonas, Grimaldo, that bring a lot of professionalism and a lot of quality,” said captain and goalkeeper Lukáš Hrádecký after the draw in Munich.

3) The X(abi) Factor

Alonso’s impact upon taking charge in October 2022 appeared immediate, beating Schalke 4-0 for the biggest victory ever by a Leverkusen coach on debut, but Die Werkself then failed to win any of the next six. It took some time for the former Real Madrid and Real Sociedad youth coach to make his mark on a team low on confidence, culminating in a two-month unbeaten run across March and April to propel them into European contention.

And now some 18 months into his tenure and boasting a squad more in his image, someone who was so used to winning as a player has now instilled that in his squad as a coach.

Watch: Bayer Leverkusen’s Spanish Maestros

“I think today we have played on the same level,” the 41-year-old said of the result away at former club Bayern. “We have shown personality. We have shown quality. We have shown mentality, and that’s the main thing that we want to build on. And there will come worse moments and that’s when we need to stick together. That’s part of football and part of the season, but so far, we have a good feeling.”

That good feeling has remained and will be something Alonso and his team will need to carry through the rest of this long season that also includes the remainder of the DFB Cup and Europa League campaigns.

There have been many false dawns before at the BayArena – think back as recently as the Peter Bosz era, when Leverkusen went toe-to-toe with Bayern up to the winter break before their form fell off a cliff.

There was also the time in 2001/02 when they held a five-point lead – as they do now – with three games to go but still failed to hold on against Dortmund. That was part of the overall larger setback of the treble that never was with runners-up finishes at the last in the Bundesliga, DFB Cup and UEFA Champions League.

Two years earlier they’d let the league title slip from their grasp on the final day after a Michael Ballack own goal against Unterhaching. Dubbed ‘Neverkusen’ for those gut-wrenching near misses, the club still bears the mental scars and is something that Alonso, the serial-winner player in his first senior role as a head coach, also has to change – and seemingly has done – if Die Werkself are to finally go one better than their five second-place finishes.

Watch: Bayer Leverkusen – From Hunters to Hunted