“Really remarkable”: The media reaction to Bayer 04’s Bundesliga triumph

International

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”.

National

“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.”