Finally, Bayern Munich’s dominance in the Bundesliga has run its course: Leverkusen

They’ve been known as Neverkusen in Germany for many years; they’re a team that prides itself on being “nearly,” a club that accepts “not quite.”

It was not their intention to spearhead the rebellion. 

Bayer Leverkusen was nowhere to be seen as Bayern Munich dominated, tightening its hold on the Bundesliga and capturing nine, ten, eleven titles in a row. 

From a distance, they observed Bayern’s intermittent stumbles, but whenever the door opened, they were nowhere to be seen.

Up to 2023–2024. Up until the Revolution of Leverkusen.

Thus far.

On Saturday, Leverkusen defeated Bayern 3-0 at the BayArena. But they failed to surprise the defending champions. 

This did not bother me.

Under head coach Xabi Alonso, Leverkusen had worked towards it all. 

Furthermore, it was the most forceful way to date to make a declaration that will shock and agitate all of European football.

The era of Bayern Munich has finally come to an end.

With their victory on Saturday, Leverkusen now leads the Bundesliga by five points.

There are 13 games left, so the door is figuratively open. Not that Bayern has failed, though.

Aiming for 85 points going into the game on Saturday, the champions had their fourth-best point total ever. 

Only because Leverkusen forced the door open is it ajar.

Football played by Alonso and underappreciated players has opened it with a fluid, shape-shifting style. 

They are hard to describe, which is part of the reason they have won all 31 of their games this season across three separate leagues. 

They move and pass similarly to Manchester City under Pep Guardiola. 

They counter and defend like the Real Madrid of 2012 under Jose Mourinho.

On Saturday, they accomplished all of that and more.

In the eighteenth minute, the resurrected wunderkind Florian Wirtz burst past midfield and almost set up Leverkusen’s opener. 

Dayot Upamecano of Bayern ultimately forced a risky rebound away. 

However, Leverkusen swiftly accepted the subsequent throw-in and surprised the winners.

The latest addition to Bayern’s fullback lineup to relieve the injury crisis, Sacha Boey, dozed off near the far post.

Sneaking up on Boey, Josip Stanišić, a fullback that Bayern deemed superfluous and loaned out to Leverkusen during the summer, gave the hosts the advantage over his parent club.

Over the course of ninety minutes, Leverkusen had more chances but less possession of the ball.

They had 1.5 Expected Goals (xG) compared to Bayern’s 0.6 and eight shots on goal to Bayern’s one.

They never once appeared to be going to lose a match that their team has virtually never won in its existence. 

Five minutes after halftime, they increased their lead and erased any doubts

.

They ended stoppage time with a historic victory. They then had a party.

They are completely free of the burden of past mistakes. They are an excellent football squad, nothing more and nothing less.

Around the turn of the century, when the Neverkusen brand started to catch on, Wirtz and others were not even born. 

Leverkusen’s six Bundesliga seasons, which started in 1996 and ended in 2002, saw them finish in second place four times. 

The club’s greatest squad ever made it to the DFB Pokal and Champions League finals in 2000, however they were both defeated.

Their new status was Vizekusen, or runner-up-kusen. Since then, they have not received any form of trophy. They haven’t won the Bundesliga either.

Bayern Munich, their ruler, had, however, won 11 straight championships. Bayern faltered in a few of those eleven seasons, but no one took advantage of it. 

In some, the so-called Rekordmeister escaped the group. And it was very possible that this, 2023–24, was the latter.

Bayern had the sixth-best start in league history with 50 points from its first 20 games, despite injuries and persistent negative talk. 

The numbers behind it spoke of an untouchable dictator, a tyrant, and a dominant force. Compared to 2017–18, when Bayern won the league by 21 points, they were superior.

They were superior to every season that followed, all of which had the same conclusion.

However, even better players like Alonso and Leverkusen came along. They have developed into a potent force with to astute summer acquisitions like Granit Xhaka from Arsenal and Victor Boniface from Union Saint-Gilloise in Belgium.

They have the ability to blitz and strangle opponents. 

In possession, they may also lull opponents to sleep by unbalancing them with the ball and assembling patient attacks that irritate purists and go viral, even in cases where the footage are from friendly games.

They have repeatedly demonstrated character by rallying from behind to win and score points. 

They equalised Bayern in the 94th minute, stealing two from them back in September.

After their winter break, they came back to win two straight games in stoppage time.

There are many who argue that their late-life heroics were untenable. such regression might be predicted by their underlying numbers. 

that, although Bayern always manages to come back, their lead was narrow and the spring was long.

However, Saturday dispelled all doubts and anxieties. In the Bundesliga, Leverkusen is in charge. 

With just three months to reclaim his throne, the king has been removed from it.

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