O Bayer Leverkusen is experiencing the beginning of a recovery under the command of coach Kasper Hjulmand, with four consecutive victories in the Bundesliga. However, this Saturday (1st), the current German champion will face the biggest challenge of the season so far: the Bayern Munich, undefeated leader of the championship.
After the departure of key members of the squad during the European summer, Leverkusen had a turbulent start to 2025. The poor run led to , making room for the arrival of Hjulmand, who quickly managed to reorganize the team.
Bayern, in turn, continues at a dominant pace. The 4-1 victory over Cologne, in the second round of the , extended their impressive record of 14 wins in 14 matches this season — a record among the top five European leagues.
Before facing Paris Saint-Germain next week, the Bavarians are looking to maintain their unbeaten record in the national tournament as well.
Even in the face of the strength of the opponent, Leverkusen has shown constant evolution under the command of the Danish coach. The team will face Benfica, in Lisbon, next Wednesday (5), in the Champions League, and arrives motivated by a sequence of 37 games without defeat as a visitor – record in Bundesliga history.
The team currently occupies fifth place in the table, with 17 points, tied with Borussia Dortmund. However, physical exhaustion can be a problem: last Wednesday, Leverkusen needed 120 minutes to eliminate second division Paderborn 4-2 in the German Cup, with decisive goals in extra time.
“It was unnecessary, completely unnecessary”, admitted Jonas Hofmann, commenting on the extra effort. “But it’s the game. We accept it and now we will try to recover. We will go to Munich with ambition, to look for something, without complaining. The extra 30 minutes didn’t help, but it’s better this way than being eliminated.”
Meanwhile, RB Leipzig is closely following the leaders. Since Bayern’s 6-0 defeat on their debut, the team has won six of the last seven matches and taken second place, with 19 points — five less than the Bavarians.
On Saturday, the team faces Stuttgart and hopes for a stumble against Leverkusen to reduce the gap at the top.
