Bayer Leverkusen Win The Bundesliga Title For The First Time In Their History

Bayer Leverkusen won their first-ever Bundesliga title following a 5-0 hammering of Werder Bremen at home on Sunday. It is Leverkusen’s first league title in their 120 years of existence. With the title, Leverkusen ended Bayern Munich’s dominance of 11 consecutive titles. Xabi Alonso-managed Leverkusen came into the fixture knowing a win would secure the title with five games to spare, but there were no signs of nerves in a dominant display. A hat-trick from Florian Wirtz alongside goals from Victor Boniface and Granit Xhaka extending their unbeaten run to a stunning 43 games in all competitions.

Bayern Munich’s 11-year dominance of the Bundesliga is broken by Xabi Alonso’s Werkself. Leverkusen’s previous best finish had been second place, something they had achieved five times in their history. Their quest to win a remarkable treble also remains alive. They take on Kaiserslautern in the domestic cup final and lead West Ham 2-0 in the Europa League quarter-final after the first leg on Thursday. With 10 minutes to go, the long-suffering fans made their way to the sidelines and a few jumped the gun, storming the pitch with the full time whistle yet to be blown.

Leverkusen players ushered the fans back into their seats. Some obliged, albeit briefly, with the stands swiftly emptying on the 90-minute mark as tearful fans made their way onto the field to celebrate with the players. Leverkusen are now on 79 points — the best tally after 29 games in German league history — and are 16 clear of second-placed Bayern and third-placed Stuttgart.

Arsenal 0 Aston Villa 2

Aston Villa produced an outstanding performance to stun Arsenal at Emirates Stadium and leave Manchester City in pole position in the Premier League title race. The game started with high anticipation for the Gunners after Liverpool’s shock home defeat by Crystal Palace, but Arsenal were desperately disappointing and well beaten as Villa boss Unai Emery made a winning return to his former club. Arsenal were fortunate to remain on level terms for so long against the impressive visitors, who secured a deserved win to move three points ahead of Tottenham in fourth having played a game more.

The only surprise was that it took Villa until six minutes from the end of normal time to open the scoring – Ollie Watkins and Youri Tielemans hit the woodwork in each half before Leon Bailey finally broke the deadlock with a low finish at the far post. Arsenal were kept out in the first half when Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez made a stunning save from Leandro Trossard, but the visitors wrapped up the win when Watkins raced clear in the 87th minute to loft a composed finish over David Raya. It completed a perfect weekend for reigning champions City, with Pep Guardiola’s side now two points clear of Arsenal who are ahead of third-placed Liverpool on goal difference.

Arsenal were presented with the perfect opportunity to strengthen their title chances after fellow contenders Liverpool lost 1-0 to Palace at Anfield in Sunday’s earlier kick-off. Instead, with a heavy weight of expectation, Arsenal produced one of their worst performances of the season and can have no complaints about the outcome. The crucial moment of a tight, tense first half came when former Arsenal keeper Martinez somehow kept out Trossard’s close-range shot just before the break when it seemed certain the Belgian would score. After that Villa took charge.