Last Updated on May 20, 2024 1:28 pm by Erwin Noguera

A historic Bundesliga came to an end this weekend, crowning Bayer Leverkusen as champions for the first time in an unprecedented manner. 

Great season in Germany with many surprises. Although the champion was defined early, the expectation of seeing Leverkusen’s unbeaten streak was always latent.

On the other hand, the fight for the European tournaments and relegation was in play until the last minutes, bringing excitement to neutrals and fans of German soccer.

Bayer Leverkusen, first title and undefeated

Xabi Alonso and his team will go down in history. 28 wins, six draws, zero defeats, 89 goals scored and 24 conceded. 90 points out of a possible 102. What a way to enter the books of Bundesliga champions, winning their first league title in 114 years of history. 

The German pharmaceutical company’s team had very high peaks, especially in 21-year-old Florian Wirtz, who was voted MVP of the season. He scored 11 goals and provided the same number of assists, but more than that, he put the team through its paces. He provided magic on every pitch and scored a hat trick on the day they were crowned champions. 

But that was not all, defenders Jonathan Tah, Jeremie Frimpong, and Alejandro Grimaldo, midfielder Granit Xhaka and striker Victor Boniface, as well as Wirtz, were included in the best team of the season. 

The performance of the two full-backs was exceptional, as they were more like wingers than defenders. Grimaldo, the team’s master of the free kick, scored 10 goals (Leverkusen’s third top scorer) and provided 13 assists, the most. Frimpong scored 9 times and assisted in 7 opportunities. 

Boniface, who had started the season in an unbeatable manner, missed a stage due to his participation in the African Cup of Nations and an injury that sidelined him for the first three months of this year. Despite that, he still managed to score 14 goals and provide 8 assists. But most importantly, Bayer showed that they were a team with all the letters and managed to make up for the loss of their goal scorer. 

One of the things people will remember about this team is the strength to never give up. There were many, many times, that they managed to come back and tie or even come win in the last minutes of stoppage time, in the last play. A champion for history. 

Surprises and Disappointments

This tournament had two big surprises. Stuttgart came from fighting relegation in recent years (even dropped to the Second Division in 2019) to achieve the runner-up position. 72 points, a campaign worthy of a champion, but they came up against this super Bayer Leverkusen. Guinean Serhou Guirassy (28 goals) and German Deniz Undav (18) commanded this team that returned to the Champions League 15 years later. 

The other surprise was Heidenheim, who, in their first season in the top flight, managed an eighth-place finish that could turn into a historic qualification to the Conference League but depends on Leverkusen winning the DFB Pokal final against Kaiserslautern. 

And for obvious reasons, the big disappointment is Bayern Munich. A tournament to forget for the German giants, who were reinforced with Harry Kane, and despite his 36 goals and Golden Boot, they cut short a streak of 11 titles in a row. But beyond not winning the league, which can happen, they are reproached for defeats against lesser teams, such as Bochum or Heidenheim, they were eliminated in the DFB Pokal by a third-division team, and lost the German Super Cup to Leipzig. 

European competitions and relegations

For next season, Germany will have five Champions League spots: Bayer Leverkusen, Stuttgart, Bayern Munich, Leipzig, and Borussia Dortmund, in that order, in the top five. 

Two will go to the Europa League: the sixth-placed Frankfurt and the DFB Pokal champion, which is between Leverkusen and second-tier Kaiserslautern.If Bayer wins the final, it will be Hoffenheim, who are currently holding the Conference League spot, who will take their place in the Europa League. If this happens, eighth-placed Heidenheim will go to the Conference League. 

In relegation matters, Darmstadt and Köln are the teams who will play next season in the second division, while Bochum will have a playoff against Fortuna Düsseldorf, third in the 2nd Bundesliga. It will be a two-game series, the winner will be in the first division, andthe loser in the second. 

Bundesliga Matchday 34: Hoffenheim 4-2 Bayern

When and Where? 

Saturday, May 18, 9:30 am ET at the PreZero Arena 

Moneyline odds: 

Hoffenheim 3.47 

Bayern 1.82 

Draw Offs: 

5.00 

Where can I watch it? 

ESPN+ 

Bayern ended the season the same way they started it: by losing. A very bad year for the German giants, who started winning 0-2 over Hoffenheim and ended up losing 4-2. 

They had started well, and within 6 minutes, they had already scored their goals. First, it was Mathys Tel with a header and then Alphonso Davies with a cross-shot. It looked like it was going to be another day at the office for the Bavarians, but two minutes later, after a mistake by Manuel Neuer and the defense, Maximilian Beier took advantage. 

Then came the Andrej Kramaric festival in the second half. The Croatian, who set up Beier for the first goal, equalized after pushing in a pass from Ihlas Bebou. Then, in the 85th minute, he shot from close range on the edge of the box to seal the comeback, and in the 87th minute, he scored after another mistake by Neuer and his defense. 

With this result, Hoffenheim secured seventh place and qualification for the Conference League, which could become the Europa League if Leverkusen are DFB Pokal champions. For their part, Bayern bid farewell to a season to forget. 

Bundesliga Matchday 34: Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 Augsburg

When and Where? 

Saturday, May 18, 9:30 am ET at the BayArena 

Moneyline odds: 

Bayer Leverkusen 1.31 

Augsburg 8.15 

Draw Offs: 

6.53 

Where can I watch it? 

ESPN+ 

Bayer Leverkusen has already been talked about, and this weekend they arrived at the BayArena to continue celebrating the title with their fans, bid farewell to this historic Bundesliga, and continue their unbeaten run. And they did just that. 

It was an untroubled 2-1 victory over Augsburg. After 12 minutes, goalkeeper Tomas Koubek made a mistake, and Boniface made it 1-0, while in the 27th minute, it was Robert Andrich’s turn to score with a backheel inside the box. 

Mert Kömür reduced the deficit in the 62nd minute with a good shot into the box, but the result was never in danger for Bayer. 

Bundesliga Matchday 34: Eintracht Frankfurt 2-2 RB Leipzig 

When and Where? 

Saturday, May 18, 9:30 am ET at the Deutsche Bank Park 

Moneyline odds: 

Eintracht Frankfurt 3.11 

RB Leipzig 2.22 

Draw Offs: 

3.81 

Where can I watch it? 

ESPN+ 

Frankfurt secured their place in the next Europa League by coming from behind to draw 2-2 with Leipzig, a team that was no longer playing for anything. 

The Red Bulls went ahead with goals from two of their young stars: Xavi Simons and Benjamin Sesko, both having great seasons. The Dutchman made it 0-1 with a penalty, while the Slovakian scored with a hard shot from outside the box, taking his tally to 14 goals and scoring for the seventh consecutive match. 

However, the home team did not want to be left out of the continental tournament and managed to equalize with a header by Hugo Ekitiké and a penalty by Omar Marmoush. 

Bundesliga Matchday 34: Stuttgart 4-0 Borussia Mönchengladbach

When and Where? 

Saturday, May 18, 9:30 am ET at the MHPArena 

Moneyline odds: 

Stuttgart 1.30 

Borussia Mönchengladbach 8.68 

Draw Offs: 

6.54 

Where can I watch it? 

ESPN+ 

Stuttgart closed out a great season at home and, taking advantage of Bayern Munich’s defeat, clinched the runner-up spot in the Bundesliga after crushing Borussia Monchengladbach 4-0. 

Goalscorer Guirassy scored a first-half brace with a header and a left-footed rasping shot to the base of the post to set the home side on their way to victory. 

The 3-0 lead came in the 75th minute after a shot from Korea’s Woo-Yeong Jeong inside the box, while Congolese Silas Katompa Mvumpa made a great individual move with speed and power to make it 4-0.

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