Beaten in the final of the Europa League, Bayer Leverkusen offered itself a good consolation prize this Saturday by winning the German Cup (1-0).
Bayer Leverkusen ends its season on a good note. Barely three days after losing the Europa League to Atalanta Bergamo (0-3), the German champion club recovered well by going for the DFB Pokal.
At the Olympiastadion in Berlin, Leverkusen won this trophy for the second time in its history, 31 years after its first coronation. To do this, Wirtz and his teammates had to get rid of Kaiserslautern, a second division team.
Xhaka, Bayer’s one-night hero
Despite the difference in level between the two teams, Bayer’s task was not easy. Xabi Alonso’s team made things a little more complicated by being reduced to ten men just before the end of the first half. The Ivorian Odilon Koussounou joined the locker room for a series of bookings.
Fortunately for Leverkusen, the hardest part had been done at that point in this game. Granit Xhaka had unlocked the score in favor of his team from the 16the minute of play. An achievement which was therefore enough for Bayer’s happiness. Outnumbered, they relied on Hradecky to make more stops and preserve the victory.
In the end, Leverkusen won this trophy and secured the very first double in its history. Knowing that this team also remained undefeated for 51 matches in a row, the results of the season are therefore largely positive despite the defeat received in Dublin.
