The Knowledge | Is Bayer Leverkusen’s 40-point increase between seasons a record?
Plus: very early promotions and relegations, and teams with multiple cups but no league titles in their trophy cabinets
“This season, Bayer Leverkusen and Stuttgart improved on their previous seasons’ points tallies by 40 – as did Leicester City in 2015-16, ” tweets Ben Janeson. “Which other clubs have improved on their previous seasons’ points tally by 40 or more (playing the same amount of matches, in the same league)?”
Leverkusen’s extraordinary success has been the story of the European season. In 2022-23 they finished sixth with 50 points from 34 games; a year later they romped to their first Bundesliga title, finishing unbeaten with 90 points. They finished 17 points clear of runners-up Stuttgart, who made an equally remarkable improvement this season. A year after finishing 16th – and needing to beat Hamburg in a relegation playoff – Sebastian Hoeness’s side more than doubled their points tally (from 33 to 73) and pipped the mighty Bayern Munich to second place.
