In a historic moment, Bayer Leverkusen clinched their first-ever Bundesliga title in their 120-year history on Sunday, with a commanding 5-0 victory over Werder Bremen.
The win ended Bayern Munich’s 11-year dominance of the German top flight.
Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen side knew that a win would secure the title with five games remaining, and they displayed no sign of nerves as they delivered a dominant performance.
A hat-trick from Florian Wirtz, along with goals from Victor Boniface and Granit Xhaka, extended Leverkusen’s unbeaten streak to an impressive 43 games across all competitions.
This first title win for Leverkusen, following five previous second-place finishes, not only keeps their hopes of a remarkable treble alive but also puts an end to their ‘Neverkusen’ moniker for good.
With 10 minutes remaining, the enduring fans began to migrate towards the sidelines, and a few preemptively stormed the pitch while the match was still in progress.
Leverkusen’s players guided the fans back, and some complied, albeit momentarily, the stands were quickly emptied at the 90-minute mark, with tearful supporters joining the players on the field to celebrate.
Leverkusen now sits on 79 points, marking the highest tally after 29 games in the history of the German league.
They hold a commanding 16-point lead over second-placed Bayern Munich and third-placed Stuttgart.
Alonso looked ahead to Thursday’s Europa League trip to London to face West Ham, making seven changes to his starting XI and benching stars Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong and Alex Grimaldo, the latter for the first time in the League this season.
