Bayer Leverkusen was crowned German champion for the first time in its history after its demonstration against Werder Bremen (5-0), during the 29th day of the Bundesliga this Sunday, April 14. Xabi Alonso’s players can no longer be caught up in the rankings and put an end to eleven years of domination by Bayern Munich in the German championship. They also have a 43rd meeting, being undefeated in all competitions.
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By outclassing Werder Bremen (5-0) at the end of the 29th day of the Bundesliga, Xabi Alonso’s men, unbeaten for 43 matches in all competitions, secured a 16-point lead over Bayern Munich and Stuttgart. Five days before the end of the season, they can no longer be caught and are guaranteed to capture the “Schale”, the trophy awarded to the German champions, for the first time in their 120 years of existence. Bayern Munich remained on eleven years of total domination in the league.
To win the title on the 29th day, the third earliest coronation after those of Bayern in 2014 (27th day) and in 2013 (28th day), Xabi Alonso’s men had to win this Sunday, April 14. It was Leverkusen’s top scorer, Nigerian international Victor Boniface, who opened the scoring in the 25th minute on a penalty after a foul on Jonas Hofmann punished after use of video assistance.
At the hour mark, Granit Xhaka doubled the lead to offer thirty minutes of pure euphoria to his supporters. Florian Wirtz then found himself in the 68th minute at the conclusion of a superb collective movement with a magnificent strike from 30 meters. Wirtz scored his hat-trick at the end of the match, causing the pitch to invade before the final seconds in an exceptional atmosphere. The end of the match took place with a light red cloud, coming from the smoke bombs of the Leverkusen ultras.
43rd meeting without defeat
Bearing the inglorious nickname of “Neverkusen” for more than two decades, in reference to its chronic inability to win the national title (notably in 2000 and 2002), Leverkusen played its 43rd match of the season without defeat this Sunday, April 14 ( 38 wins and 5 draws) and thus equaled the performance of Juventus Turin during the 2011-2012 season. The difference was that the Bianconeri did not have a European Cup to compete at the time.
At 42, Xabi Alonso is making his first coaching experience a triumphant entry into the big leagues, having lifted the club from 17th to 6th place last season to ensure a European presence in 2023-24. The harvest of the “Werskelf” – the “factory eleven”, a nickname which comes from its founding by the chemist Bayer in 1904 – can still continue over the coming weeks.
First in the Europa League, they will face West Ham on April 18 in London in the quarter-final second leg, after a 2-0 home success on April 11. With this meeting in mind, Xabi Alonso left three of his best players (Florian Wirtz, Alejandro Grimaldo and Jeremie Frimpong) on the bench for the title match at kickoff. Leverkusen players will conclude their season with the German Cup final, scheduled for May 25, three days after the Europa League final, against Kaiserslautern, a German 2nd division club.