Another inconsistent season saw Bayer Leverkusen match their pre-season expectations of securing a top four finish though they needed a late surge in form after looking to miss out on a Champions League spot for much of the second half of the season. Having only just managed to secure qualification to the Champions League in the previous campaign, Leverkusen spent a busy summer overhauling their squad with as many as nine first team players arriving at the club. Their season did get off to a good start as two wins from their opening two games raised hopes that Bayer would finally be involved in a title challenge but things quickly fell apart as Roger Schmidt's side struggled for consistency and rarely put a good run together. With Hertha Berlin emerging as surprise candidates for a top four challenge and Schalke and Wolfsburg getting their campaign off to a good start, Bayer played catchup for much of the season and they were even struggling to hold on to their place inside the top six. The poor form was also a problem in Europe as Bayer failed to progress past the group stages in the Champions League, finishing in third place and, while they did manage to progress past Sporting CP in the first knockout round of the Europa League, a 0-2 aggregate defeat to Villarreal brought a premature end to their European hopes. Things were not helped by injuries as Schmidt was without a number of first choice players and the Bayer coach struggled to field his preferred starting eleven for most of the games. First to go on the treatment table was new signing Charles Aranguiz, who missed out more than half of the campaign, while Lars Bender, Kevin Kampl, Roberto Hilbert and Kyriakos Papadopoulos also struggled to remain fit. To make matters worse, both Stefan Kiessling and Hakan Calhanoglu looked to be struggling for form, with the former managing to score just five times, his worst tally ever for Bayer. However Kiessling's load was picked up by new signing Javier Hernandez as the Mexican striker top scored with 17 goals from 28 games and kept Bayer within touching distance of breaking into the top four. However Bayer suffered three-match losing streak in March and it looked as if there would be no Champions League football next season. However, a brilliant comeback against Augsburg that saw them rescue a point after going three goals down proved to be a turning point as Bayer went on a seven-match winning streak, which included crucial victories over Schalke, Wolfsburg and Hertha, in the final weeks of the season to ensure that they would be finishing third in the league table. While it did prove to be a good season for Bayer, Schmidt will be aware that his side needs to continue building for the next season, especially in the defense where they are a bit light. They have already been handed a boost with Bernd Leno confirming that he would be staying on for the next campaign despite being linked to Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur following a brilliant season while they have also confirmed the arrivals of Kevin Volland, Julian Baumgartlinger and Danny da Costa. However, with both Wendell and Omer Toprak linked with moves away from the club, defensive reinforcements are clearly needed if Bayer are to have an even better campaign next season
