⚽ Bundesliga 2024/25 discussion and predictions thread ⚽

[sampoerna]

Important 3 points for Leverkusen, but that was not an easy game with a drama to the very last seconds.
You don't often see winning goals in 11th minute of the extra time 

Monchengladbach proved they are no pushovers and they put up a real fight.

Indeed, a very tough game, I really didn't expect Monchengladbach to be this tight in putting up a fight. But Leverkusen's performance was not that good. It's just, ah, the point is this was a pretty tight match. Very fortunately in the end in the last minutes Leverkusen was able to take the lead with 1 additional goal by Florian Wirts.

Almost, draw, almost.

Xabi must be able to redesign their team's sharpness. They had a lot of chances, but failed in their execution. Their shooting accuracy for execution to the goal was not good enough.

Just look at the statistics, they had 25 shots, and 10 of them were on target. How many chances did they miss, quite a lot. And their goal was really in a crucial minute.


google/bundesliga

[koang]

Important 3 points for Leverkusen, but that was not an easy game with a drama to the very last seconds.
You don't often see winning goals in 11th minute of the extra time 

Monchengladbach proved they are no pushovers and they put up a real fight.

Opening win in the league, Moenchengladbach was the first victim. Alonso is a new Pep?
Nothing changed from last season, The magic happened again
The new season, but Leverkusen is still the same, Leverkusen always scores in the last minutes. The mentality of the team is amazing.

I Hope Piero Hincapie is doing well, after that brutal foul I'm sure he'll need medical assistance and a scan to check his foot

[ajiz138]

Last season they went undefeated in the Bundesliga, that is a very difficult thing for a team to do again. I don't know or I forgot, because so far I have not seen a team that can go undefeated in 2 consecutive seasons, (...)

No team has ever gone undefeated for two seasons in a row, at least not in the Bundesliga. Bayer has broken the record for most undefeated games in all competitions, but it's Bayern who holds the longest undefeated streak in the bundesliga:

Longest unbeaten run: Bayern Munich didn’t lose a single one of their 53 games between Matchday 10 of 2012/13 and Matchday 28 of 2013/14.

https://www.bundesliga.com/en/faq/10-things-on-the-bundesliga/bundesliga-records-goals-titles-attendances-for-players-and-clubs-10555

meaning that no team has ever achieved an unbeaten record for at least 2 consecutive seasons. Regarding the longest unbeaten record recorded by Bayern Munich, that is a different story.

To achieve the record achieved by Bayern Munich, it is even more difficult, because in the Europa League final Leverkusen felt the first defeat after their unbeaten record. If only they had not lost at that time, then they could have broken the record previously recorded by Bayern Munich.

[pawel7777]

(...)
To achieve the record achieved by Bayern Munich, it is even more difficult, because in the Europa League final Leverkusen felt the first defeat after their unbeaten record. If only they had not lost at that time, then they could have broken the record previously recorded by Bayern Munich.

Not quite, they did beat the (European) record of a number of games without loss across all competitions, with a run of 51, which ended on that EL final loss to Atalanta.
Bayern still holds a record of games without loss for Bundesliga games only, which is a run of 53. Leverkusen are still going with their previous season's undefeated Bundesliga games, which I believe is now 35. so still a pretty long way to go to beat Bayern's record.

[LUCKMCFLY]

I'm looking forward to seeing Xabi's team play again, for me it will be quite a feat given how much improvement Xabi will bring, I think he will try to do the same as last season and it's win or win.

Given the last season was exceptionally good for Leverkusen, it will be hard to improve on that.
I don't think it's realistic to expect them to get a similar number of league points this season, but even if they end up with 10 or 15 less points, they could still successfully defend the title.
Some are concerned about their not-so-great performance in friendlies, especially the 4-1 loss to Arsenal, but the same happened last season, and that didn't stop them from dominating the league.

Yes, indeed, I think that Xabi has done things well with the team , he has Shown that he is very Decisive with his team, we know that such a feat is difficult, but it is as you say, if he ends up with that many points advantage it will be Equally beneficial for the history of the team and the Biggest rival that I see for Leverkusen is Bayern, who have obviously made them proud, I am sure that they will not stop there , there are many things that they will defend, I am sure that they can make the Difference and Remain as the main Dominant teams in the Bundesliga.

[pawel7777]

Yes, indeed, I think that Xabi has done things well with the team , he has Shown that he is very Decisive with his team, we know that such a feat is difficult, but it is as you say, if he ends up with that many points advantage it will be Equally beneficial for the history of the team and the Biggest rival that I see for Leverkusen is Bayern, who have obviously made them proud, I am sure that they will not stop there , there are many things that they will defend, I am sure that they can make the Difference and Remain as the main Dominant teams in the Bundesliga.

I'm pretty sure Xabi could've left for much bigger and richer club after the last season (as there have been quite a few big clubs looking for new managers) but he decided to stay for another season, which must mean he believes he can replicate the success. But to be fair, the club owners will probably still be satisfied with 2nd place and with going through the League stage (which replaced the group stage from this season) of the Champions' League.
Bookies favour Bayern to win the title, with the outright odds currently being x1.53 for Bayern to win the title, while Leverkusen's odds are at x3.10.

[sampoerna]

meaning that no team has ever achieved an unbeaten record for at least 2 consecutive seasons. Regarding the longest unbeaten record recorded by Bayern Munich, that is a different story.

The record achievements of Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich are different. Yes, maintaining the record of becoming consecutive league champions even for several/many seasons may be said to be easier than maintaining an unbeaten record throughout the season, and repeating it again in the next few seasons. Because, that means never losing even once. And this will be very difficult to repeat. It is possible, but the chances are small.

Meanwhile, this time, this season, the competition in the Bundesliga will certainly be even tighter. Xabi must make extra efforts to defend the Bundesliga title this season, and also focus on other tough matches in the UCL.

[LUCKMCFLY]

(...)
To achieve the record achieved by Bayern Munich, it is even more difficult, because in the Europa League final Leverkusen felt the first defeat after their unbeaten record. If only they had not lost at that time, then they could have broken the record previously recorded by Bayern Munich.

Not quite, they did beat the (European) record of a number of games without loss across all competitions, with a run of 51, which ended on that EL final loss to Atalanta.
Bayern still holds a record of games without loss for Bundesliga games only, which is a run of 53. Leverkusen are still going with their previous season's undefeated Bundesliga games, which I believe is now 35. so still a pretty long way to go to beat Bayern's record.

You're right about that, it's worth noting that Leverkusen did this in just one season, and the history that Bayern have created can't be underestimated , that's something that can't be ignored, Personally, I still believe that Xabi's good management is what has made the difference. As for Bayern, they will always be favourites to reach any final, be it in the Bundeliga or even the UCL, which we all like, but we have to wait and see, I think Leverkusen's aim will always be to win and/or compete for records. They are currently going through a very good run of form.

[ajiz138]

(...)
To achieve the record achieved by Bayern Munich, it is even more difficult, because in the Europa League final Leverkusen felt the first defeat after their unbeaten record. If only they had not lost at that time, then they could have broken the record previously recorded by Bayern Munich.

Not quite, they did beat the (European) record of a number of games without loss across all competitions, with a run of 51, which ended on that EL final loss to Atalanta.
Bayern still holds a record of games without loss for Bundesliga games only, which is a run of 53. Leverkusen are still going with their previous season's undefeated Bundesliga games, which I believe is now 35. so still a pretty long way to go to beat Bayern's record.

I think I said the same thing before, they can't break Bayern Munich's unbeaten run because they lost to Atalanta in the Europa League final. If they had won that they would have equalled Bayern Munich's unbeaten run because they won the DFB Pokal final in the next game.

now they have to start from scratch and it's obviously going to be a long journey and it's not going to be easy for them because they're going to be facing strong teams in all the competitions they're playing in.

[UNIVERSE]

The record achievements of Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich are different. Yes, maintaining the record of becoming consecutive league champions even for several/many seasons may be said to be easier than maintaining an unbeaten record throughout the season, and repeating it again in the next few seasons. Because, that means never losing even once. And this will be very difficult to repeat. It is possible, but the chances are small.

Of course, it is because these teams are basically very different. Bayern Munich often wins Bundesliga and they dominate it almost every season. Meanwhile Leverkusen is just an average team, they never won Bundesliga before Xabi Alonso managed the team. So, the record achieved by Leverkusen under Xabi Alonso is very special. Moreover, they were unbeaten in the whole season.

Meanwhile, this time, this season, the competition in the Bundesliga will certainly be even tighter. Xabi must make extra efforts to defend the Bundesliga title this season, and also focus on other tough matches in the UCL.

It will be never easy to defend the champion. Leverkusen will face the challenge, but I'm sure Xabi Alonso still has a chance to win it again. If I analyzed the performance of Leverkusen recently, they are still quite strong to compete with Bayern Munich and Dortmund. But for UCL, honestly I don't expect much on Leverkusen. They look like not really impressive in international competitions like UCL and UEL. They never won international competitions, they are good for domestic competitions.

[pawel7777]

I think I said the same thing before, they can't break Bayern Munich's unbeaten run because they lost to Atalanta in the Europa League final. If they had won that they would have equalled Bayern Munich's unbeaten run because they won the DFB Pokal final in the next game.

now they have to start from scratch and it's obviously going to be a long journey and it's not going to be easy for them because they're going to be facing strong teams in all the competitions they're playing in.

I think you misunderstand what Bayern's record represents. It's not for all competitions but for Bundesliga games only, meaning they had some losses in between Bundesliga games (i.e. in European cups etc).
As for Leverkusen, the loss to Atalanta did finish their run of undefeated games across all competitions but didn't break their run of undefeated games in the Bundesliga. They're still going with that second run and don't have to start from scratch.

[sampoerna]

Meanwhile, this time, this season, the competition in the Bundesliga will certainly be even tighter. Xabi must make extra efforts to defend the Bundesliga title this season, and also focus on other tough matches in the UCL.

It will be never easy to defend the champion. Leverkusen will face the challenge, but I'm sure Xabi Alonso still has a chance to win it again. If I analyzed the performance of Leverkusen recently, they are still quite strong to compete with Bayern Munich and Dortmund. But for UCL, honestly I don't expect much on Leverkusen. They look like not really impressive in international competitions like UCL and UEL. They never won international competitions, they are good for domestic competitions.

And in the first Bundesliga match, Xabi and Leverkusen were still a bit less than optimal. So they almost ended in a draw. And this is what became Xabi's alertness to make the team much more solid, because there are some new players who have joined. So they have to adjust themselves to the team. And this is also actually a challenge for Xabi.

In the second match, Leverkusen's opponent is Leipzig, which is certainly much stronger than the previous opponent. And this is the first challenge for Xabi to make his team superior to the club like last season. Xabi must be more careful in compiling the squad. However, with his ability and experience last season, I am quite sure that Leverkusen can also excel this time.

[koang]

In the second match, Leverkusen's opponent is Leipzig, which is certainly much stronger than the previous opponent. And this is the first challenge for Xabi to make his team superior to the club like last season. Xabi must be more careful in compiling the squad. However, with his ability and experience last season, I am quite sure that Leverkusen can also excel this time.

Three consecutive wins at the start of the season gave positive vibes for Alonso's squad to repeat last season's success
And Leverkusen has beaten Leipzig in the last three meetings.
However, the Belgian connection (Loïs Openda, Arthur Vermeeren, and Maarten Vandevoordt) with Marco Rose's tactics will be ready for the match next Saturday and will get them back on track. IMO

[ajiz138]

I think I said the same thing before, they can't break Bayern Munich's unbeaten run because they lost to Atalanta in the Europa League final. If they had won that they would have equalled Bayern Munich's unbeaten run because they won the DFB Pokal final in the next game.

now they have to start from scratch and it's obviously going to be a long journey and it's not going to be easy for them because they're going to be facing strong teams in all the competitions they're playing in.

I think you misunderstand what Bayern's record represents. It's not for all competitions but for Bundesliga games only, meaning they had some losses in between Bundesliga games (i.e. in European cups etc).
As for Leverkusen, the loss to Atalanta did finish their run of undefeated games across all competitions but didn't break their run of undefeated games in the Bundesliga. They're still going with that second run and don't have to start from scratch.

Oh yes, thanks for reminding me, I seem quite excited to talk about this unbeaten record, so I was not careful in reading what you said.

But it is indeed quite difficult to distinguish it when we are not very careful, especially when it comes to unbeaten records, because in my mind, I think we are talking based on all the competitions played by a team, not just focused on one competition. The mistake is that we have different perceptions.

[pawel7777]

So two of the potential title contenders, Borussia Dortmund and VfB Stuttgart with 0-0 draw against Werder Bremen and 3-3 draw against Mainz respectively.
This could be an early sign the the real fight for the championship will be between Bayer and Bayern.
Bayern is playing Freiburg at home, Freiburg finished in the middle of the table last season, so anything other than an easy win for Bayern will be a disappointment.
Leverkusen is playing against Lepzig right now. After half an hour, we have a goalless draw, but Leverkusen is dominating with shots on goals, so might find their way to the net eventually.