When one of the greatest calamities in the history of modern football occurred, towards the end of the 2001/02 season, and Bayer Leverkusen managed to squander the German championship title in just 19 days, losing the DFB Cup final and finally the Champions League final to Real Madrid, the global media bestowed upon them a well-known nickname: Neverkusen. All of this happened after finishing second in 1997 (just two points behind Bayern Munich), and being runners-up in 1999. Then came perhaps the most infamous moment, a year later, when in the final round Verkself failed to even take a point against Unterhahing, thus losing the title on goal difference despite having a five-point lead over Bayern in the last three matches. The last, fifth time, Leverkusen found themselves playing second fiddle to the champions was in the spring of 2011. But today, after a 5-0 win over Werder in a game which was ended as soon as Florian Wirtz scored a hat-trick in the 90th minute and crowd invaded the pitch, there is no doubt – Leverkusen is the first time ever Bundesliga champion and the first team since Borussia Dortmund in 2011/12 to beat Bayern to a Bundesliga title.HISTORY MADE! 🤩#Winnerkusen #DeutscherMeisterSVB pic.twitter.com/xNHvrNApVS— Bayer 04 Leverkusen (@bayer04_en) April 14, 2024 A hat-trick from Florian Wirtz and goals from Victor Boniface and Granit Xhaka extended their unbeaten run to a stunning 43 games in all competitions. Leverkusen’s maiden title, coming after five second-place finishes in their history, keeps their dream of a remarkable treble alive while shedding their unwanted ‘Neverkusen’ nickname for good. With 10 minutes to go, the long-suffering fans began making their way to the sidelines and a few jumped the gun, storming the pitch with the match still ongoing. Leverkusen’s players ushered the fans back and some obliged, albeit briefly, with the stands swiftly emptying on the 90-minute mark as tearful fans made their way onto the grass to celebrate with the players. Leverkusen are now on 79 points — the best tally after 29 games in German league history — and are 16 clear of second-placed Bayern and third-placed Stuttgart.
With 22 minutes gone, Jonas Hofmann was felled in the box by Bremen’s Julian Malatini, with the referee pointing to the spot after VAR urged him to view the contact again on the monitor. Boniface stepped up and nervelessly slotted the penalty past a helpless Michael Zetterer to send the home fans into raptures. Hofmann was almost the provider again shortly before half-time, his pass finding Amine Adli who fired against the crossbar. Bremen started the second-half strongly but their hopes of spoiling the party were snuffed out on the 60-minute mark, Boniface finding Xhaka who unleashed a long-range rocket before slapping his badge in front of the ecstatic home fans. Wirtz, who came on at half-time for Adli, replicated Xhaka’s effort eight minutes later from almost the same spot on the pitch. Wirtz added another with seven minutes remaining before sealing his hat-trick in the 90th minute as Leverkusen rid themselves of their nearly men tag in style. 🤩🏆 Bayer Leverkusen under Xabi Alonso this season:🏟️ 42 Games✅ 37 Wins🤝 5 Draws❌ 0 Loss⚽ 121 Goals scored📊 BUNDESLIGA CHAMPIONS! 🏆🇩🇪 pic.twitter.com/VsfxRn7lhS— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Football__Tweet) April 14, 2024 BUNDESLIGA – MATCHDAY 29FridayAugsburg – Union Berlin 2-0 (0-0)/Tietz 47, Michel 81/Saturday Bayern – Koln 2-0 (0-0)/Guerreiro 65, Muller 90+3/Bochum – Heidenheim 1-1 (0-0)/Schlotterbeck 90 – Schlotterbeck 81 og/M’ gladbach – Dortmund 1-2 (0-2)/Wober 36 – Sabitzer 22, 28 pen/RB Leipzig – Wolfsburg 3-0 (1-0)/Olmo 13, Sesko 68, Openda 82/Mainz – Hoffenheim 4-1 (0-1)/Burkardt 47, Mwene 51, Gruda 63, Onisiwo 89 – Kaderabek 19/Stuttgart – Eintr.Frankfurt 3-0 (3-0)/Guirassy 11, Undav 17, Leweling 37/Sunday Darmstadt – Freiburg 0-1 (0-1)/Doan 36/Leverkusen – Werder 5-0 (1-0)/Boniface 25, Xhaka 60, Wirtz 68, 83, 90/