Bayer Leverkusen lift their maiden Bundesliga crown: Decoding the stats
Bayer Leverkusen scripted history by lifting the 2023-24 Bundesliga title on Sunday. They also ended Bayern Munich's run of 11 successive Bundesliga crowns. Xabi Alonso's men needed a win on matchday 29 and did so by beating Werder Bremen 5-0. Notably, Leverkusen are yet to lose a match in all competitions this season as they chase a treble. Here are further details.
Leverkusen win with five matches to spare
After 29 matches, Leverkusen have 25 wins in addition to four draws. They have smashed in 74 goals (second-highest). Alonso's side have let in just 19 goals (lowest) to produce a goal difference of +55. Bayern, who won on Saturday, are 16 points adrift of Leverkusen. They will fight for second place as Stuttgart have the same number of points.
It has been a dream campaign for the German side
In addition to their 25 wins in the Bundesliga, Leverkusen have won five successive DFB-Pokal matches to reach the final. Leverkusen have won all six of their matches in the UEFA Europa League group stage. They drew and won one match in R16 before beating West Ham United 2-0 in the quarter-finals first-leg.
38th win for Leverkusen this season
Leverkusen have played 43 matches this season in all competitions. They have claimed 38 wins in addition to drawing five. They are the only side who are unbeaten in all competitions. Leverkusen have raced to 123 goals this season.
A 5-0 win for Leverkusen
Victor Boniface's 25th-minute penalty helped Leverkusen take a 1-0 lead. Former Arsenal star Granit Xhaka made it 2-0 from Boniface's assist. Florian Wirtz then smashed a hat-trick in front of the home crowd. Notably, Leverkusen supporters stormed onto the pitch mid-match when Wirtz added a fourth in the 82nd minute. Fans once again entered the field when Wirtz added his side's fifth.
Wirtz smashes hat-trick, gets to 20-plus goals involvement
Wirtz is having a magnificent season. The youngster has raced to 11 Bundesliga goals in addition to 10 assists. He has now been involved in 20-plus goals this season. He is the second Leverkusen player with 20-plus goals involvement after Alex Grimaldo (also 21). Overall, Wirtz owns 17 goals for Leverkusen in all competitions this season in addition to 18 assists.
Leverkusen break this record of Bayern Munich
Leverkusen have won the German championship for the first time - in the Bundesliga. Notably, the Werkself are the 13th different club to win the title. As per Opta, Leverkusen became the first team to go undefeated in the first 29 games of a Bundesliga season, breaking the record set by Bayern in the 2013-14 season, who went 28 games unbeaten under Pep Guardiola.
17th goal for Boniface in all competitions
In 26 matches across all competitions for Leverkusen, Boniface owns 17 goals this season, including 11 in the Bundesliga. He also has eight league assists under his belt. As per Squawka, he had five touches in the opposition box versus Bremen.
Here are the match stats
The hosts dominated the match, making 20 attempts out of which 10 shots were on target. Bremen made seevn attempts with three shots on target. Leverkusen had 56% ball possession and a 90% pass accuracy.
