Experts from ESPN in the USA said Bayer 04 had “done something really remarkable by one of the best Bundesliga teams achieving one of the best Bundesliga seasons ever.”
Sky Sports ran with the headline: “Bayer Leverkusen win title: Xabi Alonso’s achievement among the greatest seasons in European football history.”
“Bayer Leverkusen have the holy grail,” said French publication L’Equipe, asking the question: “Will Leverkusen win more trophies in one season than in their previous 119-year history? They could achieve a treble.”
Argentina’s El Clarin went with “Bayer Leverkusen win Bundesliga for the first time” and highlighted national team player Exequiel Palacios with his assist in the second half.
The Guardian in England described it as a “historic title”, adding: “Bayer Leverkusen have secured one of the most remarkable titles in Bundesliga history with their 5-0 win against Werder Bremen. The newly crowned champions are now 43 games unbeaten and set a new league record of 29 matches without defeat to start a season. With a place in the cup final already secure and the team leading West Ham 2-0 in the Europa League quarter-final, a treble is still very much possible.”
The BBC wrote that Leverkusen “completed the job with style” and stressed that their “landmark success has ended Bayern’s era of dominance after winning the title for the last 11 years. Leverkusen, who are still unbeaten in all competitions this season, are on course for a remarkable treble in Alonso’s first full season as coach, with eyes still on the German Cup and the Europa League.” They concluded that Bayer 04 are “no longer Neverkusen”.
ESPN Deportes said: “Bayer Leverkusen, Bundesliga champions with a Wirtz hat-trick!”
Spain’s Marca had the easily understandable “El Leverkusen es campeón!”, while AS even went with “Xabi Alonso es campeón!”.
The Athletic explained “How Bayer Leverkusen won the Bundesliga” and summarised “Finally, after almost a quarter of a century, they are no longer Neverkusen”.
“Leverkusen’s day in history” was the headline from the Rheinische Post. “Xabi Alonso’s team have crowned their outstanding season with the club’s first league title.”
The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung said “The perennial runners-up are now first” and also spoke of a “football feast” and the “genius of Wirtz”.
The Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger talked of a win that was “never in danger” against Bremen and handed out top marks to Granit Xhaka, Robert Andrich, Florian Wirtz and Victor Boniface.
Bild went with the headline “Meisterkusen!”, saying that “Vizekusen was no more”.
Finally, kicker had just one word to describe it all: “Perfect”. They added: “They’ve done it. Bayer 04 are champions for the first time as emotions exploded at the BayArena. A long-planned success.”
Four Bayer 04 players are in action at the 35th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations being played in Morocco from 21 December to 18 January 2026: Eliesse Ben Seghir for the hosts, Edmond Tapsoba with Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Maza for Algeria and Christian Kofane with Cameroon. Updates on the AFCON matches involving Werkself players...
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Due to the last-minute postponement of the Bundesliga match between Hamburg and the Werkself on Tuesday, 13 January, Bayer 04 will reimburse the ticket price to all 3,500 fans who had already travelled to Hamburg as a sign of appreciation. The tickets remain valid for the rescheduled match (date not yet set).
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen will have to manage without centre-back Edmond Tapsoba in the coming weeks. The Burkina Faso international returned to the Werkself from the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco with a muscle injury.
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The Bundesliga fixture between Hamburger SV and Bayer 04 Leverkusen has been postponed at short notice.
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Bayer 04 face Hamburger SV for the first time in almost eight years. Although the Hanseatic city team are often below par on the road, they are regularly in top form in front of their own fans. In particular, 18-year-old shooting star Luka Vuskovic is proving to be a real bonus for Merlin Polzin's team, both in attack and defence. However, that should not scare the Werkself: Not only was the last defeat against the newly promoted team 17 games ago, but Kasper Hjulmand's players are in with a chance of securing their fifth win in six games against HSV. Today’s matchday news.
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