Middle-of-the-table visitor Augsburg cut Leverkusen's lead in half. Leverkusen's undefeated streak in the Bundesliga was on the line on Saturday. It made late winning goals a trademark this season but appeared vulnerable to a comeback.
But the appearance — and nerves — were fleeting as Leverkusen held on to win 2-1 and complete an historic season.
Xabi Alonso's team became the first ever to finish an entire Bundesliga undefeated: 28 wins, six draws, and no losses.
A choral “Hallelujah” played over BayArena's PA system at the final whistle and a plane trailed a “German Champion” banner over the stadium as fans sang the players' praises. The sellout crowd of 30,000 was on its feet as Leverkusen's players received the club's first ever league winners medals.
Alonso, who took over in
“It’s an exceptional season that we’ve made, not just in
Goalkeeper
The retro shirts worn by fans around the BayArena bore the names of past club greats like German striker Rudi Völler, Chilean midfielder
Those players have won some of world soccer’s biggest prizes, but none won a trophy with Leverkusen. Until Alonso, the club was German soccer's perennial runner-up, derided as “Neverkusen.”
Alonso and his team can add two more titles next week in the
Alonso was asked if Leverkusen’s achievements in the Bundesliga had sunk in yet. “I believe it, but I need more time, and for now we don’t have much time," he said. "For tomorrow we have our next big target.”
The unbeaten season is all the more remarkable given
There's midfielder
Even before kickoff, there was a party atmosphere as a live band played the club anthem. With the two finals coming, Alonso fielded nearly a full-strength team. Xhaka and Wirtz were benched.
For a while it seemed all was under control. Boniface scored after a goalkeeping error and tough-tackling midfielder
Augsburg's Mert Kömür got one back with a curling shot and they nearly leveled soon after when a cross just eluded striker Ermedin Demirović.
Still, Alonso's team held on and strode into history.
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