Bayer Leverkusen won the Bundesliga for the first time in history, ending Bayern Munich’s 11-year streak as German champions.
Xabi Alonso’s runaway leaders won the title in style with five games remaining after a 5-0 home win over Werder Bremen, prompting jubilant scenes as fans celebrated their first Bundesliga title in the club’s 120-year history.
Leverkusen, who could yet complete their first-ever unbeaten season in the Bundesliga, became the first team to beat Bayern to Germany’s top flight since Jurgen Klopp led Borussia Dortmund to consecutive league titles in 2011 and 2012.
Alonso’s men thrashed Bayern 3-0 in February, taking a five-point lead in the title race. That advantage changed into a chasm as the champions fell apart under Thomas Tuchel after a series of shock defeats in the spring.
Alonso, a World Cup-winning midfielder with Spain who won major league titles with Liverpool, Real Madrid and Bayern, joined Leverkusen in October 2022 with the team sitting seventeenth in the table after only one win in the first eight games of the season.
Alonso’s impressive work at Leverkusen, which was his first managerial role, saw him change into a goal of a few of the biggest teams in Europe, including his former clubs Liverpool and Bayern.
However, Alonso has already dispelled these speculations, confirming last month that he had decided to remain at Leverkusen for next season. The 42-year-old said he has “a lot more to do” before his time at the club involves an end.
As well as attempting to go a full season 34 games unbeaten, a feat never before achieved in the history of Germany’s top flight, Leverkusen could also win the treble by adding the German Cup and Europa League trophies next month.
Leverkusen will play against FC Kaiserslautern, a team currently fighting against relegation from the second tier of the Bundesliga, in the German Cup final on May 25 and can take a 2-0 lead in the rematch of the Europa League quarter-final against West. HamUnited.
It would even be a historic achievement for the club, which was frightened by dangerous situations and gained the nickname “Neverkusen” after a spectacular collapse at the end of the 2001/2002 season. Leverkusen got here near winning the treble but finished second in the Bundesliga, German Cup and Champions League.
Meanwhile, Leverkusen’s historic success ended one among the longest title streaks in European football history – England captain Harry Kane’s first season at Bayern Munich.
Bayern won 11 straight Bundesliga between 2013 and 2023, but needed a dramatic defeat to Borussia Dortmund last season to retain their status as German champions.
But while Kane has broken scoring records since arriving from Tottenham for €100 million – he had already scored the most goals in the Bundesliga in his debut season – Bayern were struggling overall and it was announced in February that Tuchel would depart at the end of the season after a poor title defense.
However, Leverkusen could also change into the most dominant German champions in Bundesliga history, with Alonso’s side five wins away from breaking Bayern’s record of 91 points, set in the 2012/13 season.
In the match against Bremen, in an environment of expectation and bustle at the BayArena, Victor Boniface calmed the nerves in the stadium with a penalty kick in the twenty fifth minute after Julian Malatin fouled Jonas Hofmann in the penalty area and referee Harm Osmers awarded the penalty after consulting VAR.
Wave after wave of attacks followed, but the Leverkusen side were thwarted until Granit Xhaka curled in a left-footed strike from 25 yards after the hour mark, effectively ending any hopes of Bremen spoiling the party.
Wirtz, introduced after the first half, then shot high into the net from an identical distance in the second half, followed by a transient invasion of the pitch when he scored his second goal in the 83rd minute with a flawless shot on goal.
He won the treble with a effective finish, the last kick of the match sparking one other pitch invasion as Leverkusen picked up the victory they needed to secure the title with five games left in the season.
Includes reports from PA
Credit : www.independent.co.uk
