'Kim Min-jae wins, stops Munich from taking power for 11 years' First summit in 120 years since Leverkusen was founded! Bremen 5-0 vanquishe
Bayer Leverkusen of the German Bundesliga won the league title for the first time in its history. Bayern Munich, the "absolute No. 1" who lasted for 11 years, came to an end. A new history has been written.
Leverkusen won 5-0 at home in the 29th round of the 2023-2024 Bundesliga against Werder Bremen at the Bayer Arena in Leverkusen, Germany, on the 15th (Korea time). Leverkusen, founded in 1904, achieved the feat of winning the league for the first time in 120 years in the club's history. This season, Leverkusen has 25 wins and 4 draws (79 points), and the gap with second-place Munich (20 wins, 3 draws, 6 losses, 63 points) is wide, confirming its victory early with five games left in the league schedule.
Now, Leverkusen will challenge itself to a miraculous unbeaten run. From now on, Leverkusen will face Dortmund, Stuttgart, Eintracht Frankfurt, Bochum, and Augsburg. They will have to compete with strong teams for a while, but if they overcome this difficult time, they could make history again. Moreover, Leverkusen advanced to the quarterfinals of the Europa League and the final of the DFB Pokal. They even hunt mini-treble.
Leverkusen's victory put an end to Munich's 11-year long-term rule. The team won the Bundesliga title for 11 years from the 2012-2013 season to the last season. Ahead of the season, the team recruited South Korea's "monster defender" Kim Min-jae (28) and English Premier League striker Harry Kane (31) to continue its drive to win. However, the dream was broken by the storm of Leverkusen. Kim and Kane were also pushed back to win the championship.
Leverkusen Manager Xavi Alonso's leadership as a new general played a big role in Leverkusen's victory. Alonso, who played for Liverpool (England), Real Madrid (Spain), and Munich as a player, was appointed as Leverkusen's manager in October last year. Leverkusen was not considered a candidate for the title at the time. Last season, Leverkusen ranked sixth in the league in terms of performance. However, Leverkusen completely changed 180 degrees under Alonso. They defeated RB Leipzig, a powerful team, 3 to 2, in the opening match, and continued their unbeaten streak. In the end, they won the Bundesliga title.
This season, Alonso emerged as the most likely next head coach for Munich and Liv
Leverkusen's ace player is Florian Birtz, who has led his team's upward trajectory with 11 goals and 10 assists in the league this season. As a member of the German national team, he plays roles as a front-line striker and an attacking midfielder. His outstanding performance has pushed up the price. Based on Transfermarkt, a transfer market expert, Birtz's price in November 2022 was around 70 million euros, but it rose to 110 million euros in March this year.
In addition, Leverkusen striker Victor Boniface scored 11 goals and eight assists, and fullback Alex Grimaldo helped his team win the championship with nine goals and 12 assists. Jeremy Frimpong, who is loved by big clubs, also scored eight goals and seven assists.
Leverkusen scored a goal storm against Bremen on the day. It could have been a huge burden since the match decided the winner, but Leverkusen players pushed hard from the beginning. Starting with Boniface's first goal in the 25th minute, Granit Xhaka scored an additional goal in the 15th minute of the second half to make it 2-0. Birz scored consecutive goals in the 23rd and 38th minutes of the second half, making it 4-0. In extra time in the second half, Birz scored a hat trick and scored a key goal. Leverkusen also celebrated its victory with a 5-0 victory.
What's more surprising is that Birtz was substituted at the start of the second half. He even managed to achieve a hat trick after only 45 minutes of playing. Whoscored.com , a statistics site in Europe, gave Birtz the highest rating of 9.40. FootMob, another statistical medium, also got a 9.6 rating. It had the highest rating.