Ten man Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday defeated Kaiserslautern 1-0 to complete a domestic double in Germany for the first time in their history
Granit Xhaka scored the only goal as Leverkusen beat Kaiserslautern to lift the German Cup in Berlin on Saturday and give the club the league-cup double.
Crowned Bundesliga champions in mid-April, Leverkusen were made to fight hard against their second-division opponents, playing with a man down after Odilon Kossounou’s second yellow late in the first half.
Xhaka’s 16th-minute goal, a beautiful long-range strike with his left foot, made the difference as Leverkusen bounced back from Wednesday’s Europa League final loss to Atalanta — which ended both their season-long unbeaten run at 51 games and their hopes of a treble.
“To win like that at the end, we showed our team spirit. We fought hard, we did it for everyone, the fans, the club,” Xabi Alonso told Germany’s ARD.
“To achieve the double. It’s been a great season”.
Kaiserslautern, four-time German champions stranded in the lower leagues since 2012, were bidding to become just the second club from outside the top division to lift the Cup after Hannover in 1992.
Narrowly avoiding relegation to the third league this season, Kaiserslautern only faced one top-division club on the way to the final — the since-relegated Cologne.
Kossounou, who was left out of Wednesday’s loss in Dublin, returned to the starting line-up and picked up a yellow card after just two minutes for a robust challenge on Kenny Prince Redondo.
Leverkusen then took the lead after 16 minutes, long-range expert Xhaka blasting in from well outside the penalty area.
Leverkusen’s incredible season was built on front-foot football but Alonso’s side were content to sit back and defend in the second half before attacking on the counter.
Leverkusen held on to win another piece of silverware this season, doubling the trophy tally in the club’s entire history, after winning the German Cup in 1993 and the 1988 UEFA Cup.
The final was the first not to feature one of Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund or RB Leipzig since 2012 — who boast a combined 27 German Cups.
German Cup: 10-Man Leverkusen Beat Kaiserslautern To Claim A First Double
