Bayer Leverkusen crushed Werder Bremen 5-0 on Sunday to win the Bundesliga for the first time in their 120-year history, breaking Bayern Munich’s 11-year stranglehold on the German title.
Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen were controlled and dominant despite the occasion, a hat-trick from Florian Wirtz alongside goals from Victor Boniface and Granit Xhaka extending their unbeaten run to a stunning 43 games in all competitions.
Leverkusen were not among the favorites for the title at the beginning of the season, with Bayern expected to wrap up a 12th consecutive title and Borussia Dortmund, pipped to the post last year, anticipated to be their closest challengers.
With the German Cup final coming up and Leverkusen still in the Europa League, however, Spanish coach Alonso has guided his team to the brink of the first undefeated season in Bundesliga history. With five games remaining, the newly crowned champions have 79 points, 16 more than Bayern, who are in second position. Additionally, it surpassed the Bundesliga record for the most consecutive wins in a season. Some of their best players have been Nigerian striker Victor Boniface, who has won five Bundesliga rookie awards this season, Florian Wirtz, a homegrown talent who scored three goals on Sunday, veteran midfielder Granit Xhaka, and left wingback Alex Grimaldo, who was signed on a free transfer at the start of the season. After five second-place finishes in their existence, they finally won their first championship.