# 2023–24 Bayer 04 Leverkusen season

The 2023–24 season was Bayer 04 Leverkusen's 120th season in existence and 45th consecutive season in the Bundesliga. They also competed in the DFB-Pokal and the UEFA Europa League.
Following a 5–0 victory over Werder Bremen on 14 April 2024, Bayer Leverkusen won the Bundesliga title for the first time in the club's history. It also marked the club's first major trophy since 1993. In addition, they became the first team in history to win the Bundesliga without losing a single match, finishing the competition with 28 wins and 6 draws.
On 9 May 2024, following a 2–2 draw against Roma in the Europa League semi-final second leg, the club set a new European record for consecutive competitive matches without a loss (49), breaking Benfica's record of 48 games unbeaten set between 1963 and 1965. In the pursuit of achieving this record, the club succeeded in netting 17 goals during stoppage time and 34 goals from the 80th minute onwards, encompassing crucial last-minute match winners or equalizers. However, Leverkusen's unbeaten run would end at 51 matches, following a 3–0 defeat to Atalanta in the Europa League final on 22 May.
On 25 May, Leverkusen won the DFB-Pokal final against Kaiserslautern and completed an undefeated domestic double, finishing their campaign with just one defeat in 53 competitive matches.

## Players
### First-team squad

    As of 31 January 2024
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | FIN | Lukas Hradecky (captain) |
| 2 | DF | CRO | Josip Stanišić (on loan from Bayern Munich) |
| 3 | DF | ECU | Piero Hincapié |
| 4 | DF | GER | Jonathan Tah (vice-captain) |
| 6 | DF | CIV | Odilon Kossounou |
| 7 | MF | GER | Jonas Hofmann |
| 8 | MF | GER | Robert Andrich |
| 9 | FW | ESP | Borja Iglesias (on loan from Real Betis) |
| 10 | MF | GER | Florian Wirtz |
| 12 | DF | BFA | Edmond Tapsoba |
| 13 | DF | BRA | Arthur |
| 14 | FW | CZE | Patrik Schick |
| 17 | GK | CZE | Matěj Kovář |
| 18 | MF | BEL | Noah Mbamba |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 19 | MF | NGA | Nathan Tella |
| 20 | DF | ESP | Álex Grimaldo |
| 21 | MF | MAR | Amine Adli |
| 22 | FW | NGA | Victor Boniface |
| 23 | FW | CZE | Adam Hložek |
| 24 | DF | NED | Timothy Fosu-Mensah |
| 25 | MF | ARG | Exequiel Palacios |
| 30 | DF | NED | Jeremie Frimpong |
| 31 | DF | BEL | Madi Monamay |
| 32 | MF | COL | Gustavo Puerta |
| 34 | MF | SUI | Granit Xhaka |
| 36 | GK | GER | Niklas Lomb |
| 38 | FW | GER | Ken Izekor |
| 47 | MF | MAR | Ayman Aourir |

### Players out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | GK | AUT | Patrick Pentz (at Brøndby until 30 June 2024) |
| — | DF | TOG | Sadik Fofana (at Fortuna Sittard until 30 June 2024) |
| — | MF | SWE | Jardell Kanga (at De Graafschap until 30 June 2024) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | FW | ESP | Iker Bravo (at Real Madrid Castilla until 30 June 2024) |
| — | FW | IRN | Sardar Azmoun (at Roma until 30 June 2024) |

## Transfers
### In

| Pos. | Player | Transferred from | Fee | Date |
| DF | Álex Grimaldo | Benfica | Free | 1 July 2023 |
| DF | Arthur | América Mineiro | €7,000,000 | 1 July 2023 |
| MF | Jonas Hofmann | Borussia Mönchengladbach | €10,000,000 | 5 July 2023 |
| MF | Granit Xhaka | Arsenal | €25,000,000 | 6 July 2023 |
| FW | Victor Boniface | Union Saint-Gilloise | €20,000,000 | 22 July 2023 |
| GK | Matěj Kovář | Manchester United | €5,000,000 | 15 August 2023 |
| DF | Josip Stanišić | Bayern Munich | Loan | 20 August 2023 |
| MF | Nathan Tella | Southampton | €23,300,000 | 27 August 2023 |
| FW | Borja Iglesias | Real Betis | Loan | 27 January 2024 |

### Out

| Pos. | Player | Transferred to | Fee | Date |
| MF | Ayman Azhil | Borussia Dortmund II | Free | 1 July 2023 |
| FW | Karim Bellarabi | Free agent | Free | 1 July 2023 |
| GK | Lennart Grill | Union Berlin | Undisclosed | 1 July 2023 |
| GK | Andrey Lunyov | Qarabağ | Free | 1 July 2023 |
| FW | Paulinho | Atlético Mineiro | Free | 1 July 2023 |
| DF | Daley Sinkgraven | Las Palmas | Free | 1 July 2023 |
| DF | Mitchel Bakker | Atalanta | €10,000,000 | 7 July 2023 |
| FW | Moussa Diaby | Aston Villa | €55,000,000 | 22 July 2023 |
| MF | Sadik Fofana | Fortuna Sittard | Loan | 25 July 2023 |
| MF | Kerem Demirbay | Galatasaray | €3,700,000 | 3 August 2023 |
| MF | Joshua Eze | Fortuna Köln | Free | 4 August 2023 |
| GK | Patrick Pentz | Brøndby | Loan | 18 August 2023 |
| FW | Sardar Azmoun | Roma | Loan | 26 August 2023 |
| MF | Nadiem Amiri | Mainz 05 | €1,000,000 | 31 January 2024 |

## Pre-season and friendlies

Win  Draw  Loss  Fixtures

## Competitions
### Overall record

| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record |
| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % |
| Bundesliga | 19 August 2023 | 18 May 2024 | Matchday 1 | Winners | 34 | 28 | 6 | 0 | 89 | 24 | +65 | 082.35 |
| DFB-Pokal | 12 August 2023 | 25 May 2024 | First round | Winners | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 5 | +19 | 100.00 |
| UEFA Europa League | 21 September 2023 | 22 May 2024 | Group stage | Runners-up | 13 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 31 | 13 | +18 | 069.23 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 53 | 43 | 9 | 1 | 144 | 42 | +102 | 081.13 |
Source: Soccerway

### Bundesliga
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Bayer Leverkusen (C) | 34 | 28 | 6 | 0 | 89 | 24 | +65 | 90 | Qualification for the Champions League league phase |
| 2 | VfB Stuttgart | 34 | 23 | 4 | 7 | 78 | 39 | +39 | 73 | Qualification for the Champions League league phase |
| 3 | Bayern Munich | 34 | 23 | 3 | 8 | 94 | 45 | +49 | 72 | Qualification for the Champions League league phase |
| 4 | RB Leipzig | 34 | 19 | 8 | 7 | 77 | 39 | +38 | 65 | Qualification for the Champions League league phase |
| 5 | Borussia Dortmund | 34 | 18 | 9 | 7 | 68 | 43 | +25 | 63 | Qualification for the Champions League league phase |
* ↑ The Bundesliga gained an additional Champions League place as a result of Germany finishing as one of the two associations with the highest UEFA coefficient points in 2023–24.

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Source: DFB

#### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 |
| Ground | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H |
| Result | W | W | W | D | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | D | D | W | W | W | W | D | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | D | D | W | W | W |
| Position | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Points | 3 | 6 | 9 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 22 | 25 | 28 | 31 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 39 | 42 | 45 | 48 | 49 | 52 | 55 | 58 | 61 | 64 | 67 | 70 | 73 | 76 | 79 | 80 | 81 | 84 | 87 | 90 |

#### Matches

The league fixtures were unveiled on 30 June 2023.

### DFB-Pokal

Source:

### UEFA Europa League

Source:

#### Group stage

The draw for the group stage was held on 1 September 2023.
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | LEV | QAR | MOL | HAC |
| 1 | Bayer Leverkusen | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 3 | +16 | 18 | Advance to round of 16 | — | 5–1 | 5–1 | 4–0 |
| 2 | Qarabağ | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 9 | −2 | 10 | Advance to knockout round play-offs | 0–1 | — | 1–0 | 2–1 |
| 3 | Molde | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 7 | Transfer to Europa Conference League | 1–2 | 2–2 | — | 5–1 |
| 4 | BK Häcken | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 17 | −14 | 0 | | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–3 | — |

#### Knockout phase
##### Round of 16

The draw for the round of 16 was held on 23 February 2024.

##### Quarter-finals

The draw for the quarter-finals was held on 15 March 2024.

##### Semi-finals

The draw for the semi-finals was held on 15 March 2024, after the draw for the quarter-finals.

##### Final
## Statistics
### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Bundesliga | Bundesliga | DFB-Pokal | DFB-Pokal | Europa League | Europa League |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||||
| 1 | GK | FIN | Lukas Hradecky | 35 | 0 | 33 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | GK | CZE | Matěj Kovář | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| 36 | GK | GER | Niklas Lomb | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||||||
| 2 | DF | CRO | Josip Stanišić | 38 | 4 | 13+7 | 3 | 3+2 | 0 | 9+4 | 1 |
| 3 | DF | ECU | Piero Hincapié | 43 | 1 | 16+10 | 1 | 3+2 | 0 | 10+2 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | GER | Jonathan Tah | 48 | 6 | 30+1 | 4 | 4+2 | 2 | 11 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | CIV | Odilon Kossounou | 34 | 1 | 21+1 | 1 | 2+2 | 0 | 4+4 | 0 |
| 12 | DF | BFA | Edmond Tapsoba | 46 | 3 | 23+5 | 0 | 5+1 | 1 | 11+1 | 2 |
| 13 | DF | BRA | Arthur | 5 | 0 | 2+2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | DF | ESP | Álex Grimaldo | 51 | 12 | 31+2 | 10 | 5+1 | 0 | 9+3 | 2 |
| 24 | DF | NED | Timothy Fosu-Mensah | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | DF | NED | Jeremie Frimpong | 47 | 14 | 27+4 | 9 | 5+1 | 2 | 6+4 | 3 |
| 31 | DF | BEL | Madi Monamay | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||||
| 7 | MF | GER | Jonas Hofmann | 46 | 8 | 26+6 | 5 | 3+2 | 1 | 3+6 | 2 |
| 8 | MF | GER | Robert Andrich | 45 | 6 | 18+10 | 4 | 5+1 | 1 | 8+3 | 1 |
| 10 | MF | GER | Florian Wirtz | 49 | 18 | 26+6 | 11 | 5+1 | 3 | 8+3 | 4 |
| 18 | MF | BEL | Noah Mbamba | 6 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | NGA | Nathan Tella | 39 | 6 | 8+16 | 5 | 1+3 | 0 | 8+3 | 1 |
| 21 | MF | MAR | Amine Adli | 42 | 9 | 8+15 | 3 | 4+2 | 5 | 11+2 | 1 |
| 25 | MF | ARG | Exequiel Palacios | 36 | 6 | 21+3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 6+3 | 0 |
| 32 | MF | COL | Gustavo Puerta | 9 | 0 | 0+6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 |
| 34 | MF | SUI | Granit Xhaka | 50 | 4 | 32+1 | 3 | 5+1 | 1 | 10+1 | 0 |
| 47 | MF | MAR | Ayman Aourir | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| Forwards ||||||||||||
| 9 | FW | ESP | Borja Iglesias | 10 | 0 | 2+5 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 14 | FW | CZE | Patrik Schick | 33 | 13 | 12+8 | 7 | 3+1 | 1 | 3+6 | 5 |
| 22 | FW | NGA | Victor Boniface | 34 | 21 | 18+5 | 14 | 2+1 | 2 | 4+4 | 5 |
| 23 | FW | CZE | Adam Hložek | 36 | 7 | 5+18 | 2 | 1+3 | 3 | 5+4 | 2 |
| 38 | FW | GER | Ken Izekor | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| Players transferred out during the season ||||||||||||
| 9 | FW | IRN | Sardar Azmoun | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | GER | Nadiem Amiri | 9 | 0 | 1+7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | GK | AUT | Patrick Pentz | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Source: Competitions

### Goalscorers

| Rank | Pos. | No. | Nat. | Player | Bundesliga | DFB-Pokal | Europa League | Total |
| 1 | FW | 22 | | Victor Boniface | 14 | 2 | 5 | 21 |
| 2 | MF | 10 | | Florian Wirtz | 11 | 3 | 4 | 18 |
| 3 | DF | 30 | | Jeremie Frimpong | 9 | 2 | 3 | 14 |
| 4 | FW | 14 | | Patrik Schick | 7 | 1 | 5 | 13 |
| 5 | DF | 20 | | Álex Grimaldo | 10 | 0 | 2 | 12 |
| 6 | MF | 21 | | Amine Adli | 4 | 5 | 1 | 10 |
| 7 | MF | 7 | | Jonas Hofmann | 5 | 1 | 2 | 8 |
| 8 | FW | 23 | | Adam Hložek | 2 | 3 | 2 | 7 |
| 9 | DF | 4 | | Jonathan Tah | 4 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| 9 | MF | 19 | | Nathan Tella | 5 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| 9 | MF | 25 | | Exequiel Palacios | 4 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| 9 | MF | 8 | | Robert Andrich | 4 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 13 | DF | 2 | | Josip Stanišić | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 13 | MF | 34 | | Granit Xhaka | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 15 | DF | 12 | | Edmond Tapsoba | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 16 | DF | 3 | | Piero Hincapié | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 16 | DF | 6 | | Odilon Kossounou | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Own goals | Own goals | Own goals | Own goals | Own goals | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | 89 | 24 | 31 | 144 |