Neverkusen are no more. A stylish and entertaining thrashing of Werder Bremen was enough to see them finally get their hands on the crown. Victory over Werder represented Leverkusen’s 25th of the season in just their 29th game. That is exactly why they are now champions.
They had finished as Bundesliga runners-up on five occasions in the past – the most recent coming in 2011. The most famous of their failures came during the 2001/02 season when, odds on to win the title, they took just one win from their final four games and saw Bayern Munich steam in to claim the trophy by a point. It then got worse for Leverkusen as they were defeated 3-2 by Schalke in the German Cup final. From a potential treble to trophyless.
It was then that the ‘Neverkusen’ nickname started to stick. That is all very, very different now after Alonso finally ended the club’s hoodoo. The victory over Bremen was typical Leverkusen – sumptuous football sprinkled with individual brilliance. Boniface’s penalty – awarded by VAR after Julian Malatin had fouled Jonas Hofmann – just about escaped the grasp of Bremen goalkeeper Michael Zetterer.
Hofmann and Amine Adli had the opportunities to make the afternoon more comfortable but failed to find the net. Xhaka then fired in a stunning effort from 25 yards to make sure of things. Wunderkind Florian Wirtz zipped in a third from distance to really get the party started within the BayArena, naturally of course. He then doubled up his afternoon’s work and triggered a pitch invasion in the process.
There was even time for him to seal the matchball on his boyhood club’s historic day. With the Bundesliga secure, it could get even better for Alonso trailblazers. Alonso could also become the first man to lead a club to an unbeaten Bundesliga season with five games remaining. Two more trophies could also be added to the cabinet.
Leverkusen have a spot in the German Cup final and will take on second-tier side FC Kaiserslautern. European glory could also be on the menu. Many Leverkusen supporters will call for caution, particularly with that Neverkusen tag still in the back of their minds. But as it stands, they can celebrate finally, finally being kings of Germany.