Bayer Leverkusen endured one of their worst campaigns in recent history as they fell well short of expectations and had to wait until the penultimate game of the season to secure their safety from relegation. A strong finish to last season had helped Bayer finish in the top four and they started the campaign hoping to be involved in the title race. Bayer spent big during the summer, bringing in Kevin Volland, Julian Baumgartlinger and Aleksandar Dragovic as they looked to hit the ground running but once again endured an inconsistent start to the season. Defensive vulnerabilities from last season persisted for Schmidt as his struggled to keep opponents out and could only manage three clean sheets in the first half of the campaign. Bayer headed into the winter break just about holding on to a place in the top half of the league table and pressure was building on Schmidt to turn things around quickly. There were a number of positives with regards to individual performances as Julian Brandt built on his breakout season by continuing to push for a place in the lineup while Benjamin Henrichs emerged as the first choice at right back. However it was Hakan Calhanoglu who was their standout performance, at least in the first half of the season, as the midfielder scored six goals and also chipped in with five assists from 14 starts.
Things though began to take a turn for the worse as action resumed following the winter break with Bayer continuing to struggle for consistency and a 2-6 thrashing at Borussia Dortmund brought down the curtains on Schmidt's reign at the club, with Tayfun Korkut taking over on an interim basis. The change had little impact on their form, though, with Bayer continuing their slide down the table after winning just once in Korkut's first 10 games in charge and the Bayer coach admitted that his side was involved in a fight to avoid the drop before a draw at Koln finally helped them secure their safety. With Korkut confirming that he will be leaving in the summer and the club yet to appoint a permanent replacement, Bayer face a crucial summer ahead if they are to bounce back and challenge for a top four finish next season.
