a hat-trick, an unbeaten season… the records Bayer Leverkusen are still chasing

Bayer Leverkusen has already been crowned German champions in the Bundesliga and has qualified for the semi-finals of the Europa League and the German Cup final. Above all, the German club are yet to lose a single game in all competitions and can make history by finishing the season unbeaten.

Bayer Leverkusen have already made history, ending Bayern Munich’s 11-year reign in the Bundesliga. But Xabi Alonso’s men can go even further this season. In the last four of the Europa League and the final of the German Cup, they have yet to lose a single game this season. They can therefore both achieve an unusual hat-trick and end the season unbeaten, an even rarer feat.

The hat-trick in sight to erase the demons

Since 2002 and the nightmarish end of Bayer Leverkusen’s season, it has been almost forbidden to talk about a treble. But by winning the Bundesliga title, the first in its history, the club ended the curse, left behind the nickname “Neverkusen” and earned the right to dream.

Qualified for the semi-finals of the Europa League against AS Roma, and for the final of the German Cup against Kaiserslautern, residents of the second division, the German club is favorite in both competitions. In the history of German football, only one club has achieved the treble: Bayern Munich in 2013. But that was by winning the Champions League instead of the Europa League.

The treble with the Europa League, less often than with the Champions League

On a European scale, ten teams have won the Champions League, their championship and their national cup in the same season: Celtic Glasgow in 1967, Ajax Amsterdam in 1972, PSV Eindhoven in 1988, Manchester United in 1999, FC Barcelona in 2009 and 2015, Inter Milan in 2010, Bayern Munich in 2013 and Manchester City in 2023.

But the treble of the Europa League, or formerly the UEFA Cup, is much rarer. Because in general the winning team in the Europa League is not dominant on their national stage. No club from the five major European championships has therefore achieved this treble. Bayer Leverkusen can write history and join Gothenburg (1982), Galatasaray (2000), Porto (2003 and 2011) and CKSA Moscow (2005).

Invincibles 2.0

Preston North End had been the first team to qualify from the Invincibles, going 22 games unbeaten in 1989. In the following decades, Pro Vercelli (1913), Genoa (1923), Athletic Bilbao (1930) and Real Madrid (1932) experienced a similar feat in Spain and Italy, but in much less busy seasons than today. Since then, the nickname has been given to AC Milan (1992, 30 games), Juventus (2012, 38 games) and especially Arsenal (2004, 38 games).

On the other hand, a Bundesliga club has never gone undefeated during a championship. Five games remain for Florian Wirtz’s teammates, including a difficult one against Borussia Dortmund. But above all, Bayer Leverkusen can do even better than that: remain unbeaten for an entire season, in three different competitions. This would be unheard of in Europe and a good opportunity to definitively remove the demons of the past.