Bayer Leverkusen face second-division Kaiserslautern in Saturday’s German Cup final licking their wounds after a first loss in almost a year. Xabi Alonso‘s side were thoroughly outclassed in a 3-0 loss to Atalanta in the Europa League final on Wednesday, their first defeat in any competition since May 2023 — a run of 51 games. Energetic and dynamic this season with a taste for late goals, Leverkusen looked a shadow of the team which thundered past Bayern Munich to win their first ever Bundesliga title this season. 

In a year when Alonso pledged to stick around with the club despite reported interest from Liverpool and Bayern, Leverkusen looked on track for a remarkable three trophies.

Now they need to rebound to stop their underdog opponents, who flirted with relegation to the third division for much of the campaign, spoiling what has been an incredible season.

A loss will recall the club’s infamous ‘Neverkusen’ season in 2002, when they somehow emerged empty-handed despite being five points clear in the league with three games remaining, while also qualifying for the German Cup and Champions League finals.

Leverkusen’s unbeaten run, which broke a 59-year-old record set by Portuguese giants Benfica in 1965, was bound to end sometime but it was the manner in which the club capitulated which will concern Alonso the most. 

The Germans were outmuscled by a determined Atalanta, with the reliable Florian Wirtz and Granit Xhaka, so important this season, having off nights. 

Winger Jonas Hofmann summed up the club’s struggles on Wednesday night, lamenting “many mistakes, individual mistakes, bad passes and simple technical errors,” saying the performance was “not Bayer-like”.

“We weren’t confident in the build-up,” Hofmann said, explaining Leverkusen had given Atalanta the feeling “they could stand up to us and win the title”.

‘Transform pain’

For a side which has made a habit of scoring late goals — they have scored 15 times after the 90-minute mark this season — Leverkusen were not able to turn the tide. 

Alonso was self-critical after the match, saying “we weren’t at our best, including me” and explained the system he chose “did not work,” urging his side to “transform our pain into positive energy”.

Despite the disappointment, beating Kaiserslautern would make Leverkusen just the sixth side in German football history to do the double — an incredible achievement for a team which had two major trophies to their name before this season started. 

Xhaka told reporters on Wednesday the result was “not easy” but “we will not let it destroy us”.

“If we don’t win the triple, then we will win the double.”

Centre-back Jonathan Tah, captain on Wednesday night, said “the show must go on”.

“We’ve got a very important game ahead of us — we can’t afford to talk ourselves down too much.”

Their opponents may now face a wounded Leverkusen hoping to make amends, but also understand Alonso’s side are vulnerable after Wednesday’s surprise loss. 

Despite their run to the final, Kaiserslautern only played one top-division side in the Cup — beating Cologne, who were relegated to the second division at the end of the season. 

Kaiserslautern striker Ragnar Ache told AFP he had been cheering for Leverkusen in Wednesday’s final in the hope Alonso’s side “would maybe party a little bit” into the night. 

Ache however said Leverkusen “have a very big squad with high quality players — and they’re used to it”.

“It’s still not going to be easy for us. We have to look at ourselves and what we are going to do.”

Bayer Leverkusen’s chances in Wednesday’s Europa League final clash with Atalanta in Dublin have been boosted by the return of star midfielder Florian Wirtz to full fitness. A crucial component of their maiden Bundesliga title bid, Wirtz has had to settle for a bit part role in recent weeks as coach Xabi Alonso, with games like this in mind, wrapped the 21-year-old in cotton wool. With Wirtz forced to play through the pain of a muscle injury to his leg, Alonso has used the midfielder sparingly. Wirtz has not played a full 90 minutes since Leverkusen’s Europa League quarter-final win over West Ham on April 11, nine games ago, but has still made an impact. He came off the bench at half-time and scored a hat-trick as Leverkusen beat Werder Bremen 5-0 to secure the title in mid-April. 

In his next two league games, Wirtz laid on equalisers deep in stoppage time against Borussia Dortmund and Stuttgart which kept their unbeaten run alive.   

Even with a team firing on all cylinders amid a 51-game unbeaten run in all competitions dating back to May 2023, Alonso knows Wirtz offers something unique. 

While the club now boasts a squad the envy of many in Europe, Wirtz remains the club’s only true superstar.

Wirtz turned 21 in May and has 18 goals and 20 assists in all competitions this season. 

Born just 20 minutes away in the village of Pulheim, his performances have him earmarked for future Ballon d’Or honours, with some in the German media suggesting he may be an outside chance this year should Germany go far at the Euros. 

The coach, who has repeatedly preached patience as Leverkusen have continued their rampage this season, has taken risks with Wirtz despite his injury. 

Alonso admitted he had tried to rest Wirtz in the second leg of Leverkusen’s Europa League semi-final against Roma, but brought him off the bench with nine minutes remaining and Leverkusen trailing 2-0, level 2-2 on aggregate. 

The hosts scored a minute later to take the lead in the tie and added a second in stoppage time to stretch their unbeaten streak to 49 games, breaking a 59-year-old European record in the process. 

“He couldn’t run well, he was limping, but he wanted to help the team,” Alonso said afterwards. 

“He’s still a pretty good player when he’s 70 percent fit,” Alonso said. “But he still needs a bit more time.”

Wirtz missed the next two league games and returned on Saturday, with Alonso saying beforehand “he feels much better… (and) could play from the start.”

Coming into this season, the 1988 Europa League and the 1993 German Cup were the only titles Leverkusen had won in their 120-year history. 

Having clinched the Bundesliga in mid-April, Leverkusen — who face second-division Kaiserslautern in the German Cup final on Saturday — are now two wins away from an unbeaten treble. 

Without a trophy since the 1963 Coppa Italia, Atalanta will also be hoping for a drought-breaking victory — but face a side who do not seem to know when they are beaten.

Even if Atalanta, who lost the Coppa Italia final to Juventus on Wednesday, manage to get a jump on their opponents, Leverkusen’s record late in matches will keep Gian Piero Gasperini’s side looking over their shoulder.

Leverkusen have scored 15 goals after the 90-minute mark this season, often snatching victory, or at least a draw, from the jaws of defeat. 

While luck, momentum and an insatiable home crowed have played a role, opponents have struggled to keep up with Leverkusen’s relentless ball movement and have faded late.

Nowhere has this been more evident than in the Europa League. Since the knockout rounds began, 11 of Leverkusen’s 12 goals have been scored after the 70-minute mark.

After Saturday’s 2-1 win over Augsburg which sealed the unbeaten league season, Alonso said the scale of the task was “unbelievable, but we’ll try it.”

“With this atmosphere, with this energy, there are reasons to be optimistic — and to believe.”

Champions Bayer Leverkusen chase “immortality” in the shape of an undefeated Bundesliga season on Saturday as relegation-threatened Union Berlin face a last-day battle for survival. Xabi Alonso‘s Leverkusen can become the first team in Bundesliga history to go through a campaign unbeaten by avoiding defeat against Augsburg. Not even the greatest Bayern Munich sides have managed an invincible season. That Alonso’s men have done it without losing in any competition — a European record 50-game streak which includes runs to next week’s German Cup and Europa League finals — shows how incredible they have been.

A win against Augsburg would net Leverkusen 90 points from 34 games — the equal second-highest tally in German football history. 

Leverkusen striker Patrik Schick said the match was “like a final”, while captain Lukas Hradecky said his team had “immortality” in sight.

Regardless of the result, Leverkusen will hoist the Bundesliga shield on Saturday and Hradecky said he would “be careful” not to hold it upside down, like Stuttgart captain Fernando Meira did in 2007.

In the German capital, Union — who faced Real Madrid in the Champions League in December  — need to beat Freiburg and hope for other results to go their way in order to avoid relegation.

Union won at home on the final day last season to finish fourth and qualify for Champions League football, continuing the team’s rise after their debut promotion in 2019.

Remarkably, Union sat atop the Bundesliga standings after two games this season, but then fell to rock bottom after a run of nine straight losses.

In 16th spot, Union need a point to avoid falling through the trap door. 

Even then, staying in 16th will still mean a two-legged playoff against Fortuna Duesseldorf, who finished third in the second division. 

Duesseldorf boast a 52,000-seat stadium and are in incredible form, having not lost in the league since early February.

For Union, even a win will not guarantee safety. Union will only be safe if one of Mainz, who play at Wolfsburg, or Bochum, who travel to Werder Bremen, lose. 

Freiburg coach Christian Streich, who signs off from a 14-year tenure at the club against Union on Saturday, said his side were “going to play to win”.

“For Union, it’s about staying in the league. They will certainly do everything they can to stay in it, and we will do everything we can to have a nice finish.”

Champions League finalists Borussia Dortmund host last-placed Darmstadt in Marco Reus‘ final game at the Westfalenstadion. 

Bayern Munich will guarantee second spot with probably just a draw against Hoffenheim while Harry Kane requires six goals to beat Robert Lewandowski‘s single-season record of 41.

One to watch: Christopher Trimmel (Union Berlin)

Union Berlin captain Christopher Trimmel extended his deal with the relegation-threatened club by one year until 2025 on Thursday, promising “the story isn’t over yet.”

Trimmel joined Union in 2014 and is the only player remaining from the club’s first-ever promotion, back in 2019. 

The Austria defender has tasted the highest of highs with Union, saying “together we have achieved more than I ever imagined. Union fans, I’m staying.”

Key stats 

0 – No team has ever gone through a Bundesliga season unbeaten. Leverkusen are a game away. 

71 – Last season, Bayern won the title on 71 points, beating Dortmund on goal difference. If Stuttgart beat Gladbach, they will join Leverkusen and Bayern in having more than 71 points. 

17 – Darmstadt have 17 points with a game to go. Only three teams in Bundesliga history have ever recorded a worse points tally.

Fixtures (1330 GMT Saturday)

Union Berlin v Freiburg, Hoffenheim v Bayern Munich, Wolfsburg v Mainz, Bayer Leverkusen v Augsburg, Eintracht Frankfurt v RB Leipzig, Borussia Dortmund v Darmstadt, Stuttgart v Borussia Moenchengladbach, Werder Bremen v Bochum, Heidenheim v Cologne