Brilliant Leverkusen stretch unbeaten run to 50

stretched their season-long unbeaten run to 50 games with a 5-0 win at 10-man Bochum yesterday.

Bochum defeated a 10-man Leverkusen in May 2023, the last side to beat Xabi Alonso’s side in any competition, but the tables turned yesterday with Leverkusen’s goals coming from five different scorers.

Alonso’s league champions are just one game away from the first unbeaten Bundesliga season and three games from a remarkable treble.

Leverkusen midfielder Robert Andrich told DAZN he had his sights set on a “unique” triple.

“We couldn’t have imagined how much the Bundesliga title meant to the club and the fans.

“Next week we’ll hold the trophy high in our own stadium, which will be emotional and beautiful. After that we’re off to Dublin and Berlin and we want to grab both titles and go on holiday with the triple in our backpacks.”

Within three days in late May, Leverkusen face Atalanta in the Europa League final in Dublin before taking on second-division Kaiserslautern in the German Cup final.

Meanwhile, Thomas Tuchel’s heavily changed Bayern Munich line-up made short work of Wolfsburg at home, winning 2-0 to leapfrog Stuttgart into second spot.

Tuchel made eight changes to the side eliminated from the Champions League with a 2-1 loss at Real Madrid, with England captain Harry Kane, out with back issues, missing his first league match of the season.

Bayern captain Manuel Neuer was proud with his side for bouncing back after the disappointing and controversial loss to Real.

“We were in control for over 90 minutes and got into the game well, that was crucial,” Neuer told DAZN.

“Real was difficult to deal with, today we had to ignore it – we did a good job of that.”

The win sends Bayern two points clear of Stuttgart in second with one game remaining.

Earlier, Hoffenheim boosted their chances of qualifying for Europe with a 6-0 demolition of already relegated Darmstadt. – AFP