Karim Bellarabi's impressive displays for Bayer 04 Leverkusen so far this campaign - he has scored eight goals - have brought him full international recognition
Karim Bellarabi's impressive displays for Bayer 04 Leverkusen so far this campaign - he has scored eight goals - have brought him full international recognition

Half-term report: Bayer 04 Leverkusen

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Leverkusen - Upon taking control at Bayer 04 Leverkusen, coach Roger Schmidt noted that there was "no quiet, calm football any more". True to his word, the club's Hinrunde performances have made quite a noise.

Sitting pretty in third place over the winter break, with qualification for the UEFA Champions League knockout rounds also assured, and having turned die Werkself into one of the most potent attacking forces in the Bundesliga, Schmidt has left quite the mark in his first 17 games in charge.

Top facts

Click here for a statistical analysis of Leverkusen's season so far

    Leverkusen are yet to lose a home game under Roger Schmidt. The BayArena has so far played host to four wins and five draws.

    With 305 shots on goal, only league leaders FC Bayern München have fired in more efforts than Leverkusen.

    Each of Hakan Calhanoglu's four goals this season has come from outside the box.

Flop facts


    With 42 cards received in the Hinrunde, Leverkusen share the worst disciplinary record with Hamburger SV.

    Leverkusen have only won seven of 17 games this Hinrunde, at this stage last season, they had racked up 12 victories.

    Stefan Kießling failed to score for 850 minutes between Matchday 1 and Matchday 12 - the longest drought of his Bundesliga career.

Best of social media

"

Bayer 04 celebrating,

" reads this satisfied tweet sent after the 5-1 derby win over 1. FC Köln...

Best quote


"To be honest, it’s something pretty special."

- Bellarabi on scoring after nine seconds on Matchday 1 against Borussia Dortmund, the fastest goal in Bundesliga history

Best game



Matchday 13: Bayer 04 Leverkusen 5-1 1. FC Köln

After going a goal down early, Schmidt's men completely dominated proceedings in a feisty Rheinderby against a predictably competitive Köln side. Braces from Bellarabi and Josip Drmic, as well as a trademark free kick from Calhanoglu gave die Werkself the three points and the bragging rights.