Analysis of Bayer Leverkusen's 2023/24 Unbeaten Season

Overview

In 2023/24, Bayer Leverkusen did something no Bundesliga club had ever achieved — they went the entire 34-game season unbeaten, winning the title under Xabi Alonso with a brand of football defined by relentless pressing, late winners, and tactical flexibility.

This project uses over 130,000 event-level records from the Statsbomb open data API to quantify the tactical and statistical foundations of that historic campaign — from passing networks and pressing intensity to shot quality and goal involvement patterns.

Key Insights

• Late-Game Resilience: Leverkusen scored a disproportionate share of their goals in the final 15 minutes of matches — a pattern that defined their season narrative and reflected both physical conditioning and mental strength under pressure.
• xG Overperformance: The team consistently outperformed their expected goals (xG) figures, suggesting clinical finishing and high-quality chance creation were both contributing to their goal tallies beyond what chance quality alone would predict.
• Pressing Effectiveness: Statsbomb pressure event data showed Leverkusen among the most aggressive pressers in the Bundesliga, with their pressing leading to a high rate of ball recoveries in dangerous areas of the pitch.
• Key Player Contributions: Granit Xhaka and Florian Wirtz emerged as central nodes in the passing network — with Wirtz's goal involvement rate placing him among Europe's elite creators for the season.

Methodology