Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso is said to have enjoyed the most of Bayern Munich’s 11 consecutive Bundesliga titles, especially the 3 he helped win after joining the club in 2014.
The same cannot be said for Bayern Munich’s emotions at Alonso’s Bundesliga triumphs after the former Bayern midfielder halted his run with Leverkusen’s first German top-flight title.
Leverkusen won the Meisterschale on Sunday after a 4-0 win over Werder Bremen, passes from Victor Boniface and Granit Xhaka, as well as a hat-trick from Florian Wirtz in the final 22 minutes ensured Bayern could catch them. Alonso’s men have 79 points and Bayern 63 with five games left in each.
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The fight is not over for Leverkusen, who are unbeaten in the Bundesliga (25 wins, four draws) and still have five games left to play to end an unbeaten season: in Dortmund, home of Stuttgart, at Eintracht Frankfurt and in Bochum. They will also play the German Cup final against Cologne on May 25.
Both German clubs will remain in Europe for at least a week. Bayern face Arsenal in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals, 2-2 point, while Leverkusen leads West Ham 2-0 after the first leg of the Europa League quarter-finals.
It wouldn’t be a classic continental treble for Leverkusen, but few would mind the word modifier given that the club never won the Bundesliga, won the German Cup once (1992-93) and won the Europa League for the last time. the UEFA Cup in 1987–88 (Leverkusen finished second in the Champions League in 2001–02).
Alonso is rumoured to be Liverpool’s next boss, but he recently said he will stay at Leverkusen for at least one season.
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