Looking to bounce back from their 3-0 Europa League final loss against Atalanta in the week, Xabi Alonso's won the DFB-Pokal for the second time in their fabled history with a narrow 1-0 win against 1.FC Kaiserslautern, courtesy of a Granit Xhaka's howitzer. A rather chaotic start, largely controlled by Kaiserslautern, came to an end in the 16th minute as Granit Xhaka scored a wonderfully taken long-range strike.
Opting for precision over power, the midfielder slotted his effort past Julian Krahl with ease. From then onwards, the 2023/24 Bundesliga winners were in cruise control, despite a red card for Odilon Kossounou. Friedhelm Funkel's well-rehearsed outfit, despite their chances to draw level, were second best for the majority of the contest at Olympiastadion Berlin.
In truth, Bayer's passing structure drowned out any real chance of them getting their noses back into the fixture. With a 1-0 win in the capital, Leverkusen became the sixth team in German football to complete a double comprised of the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal. Here are the complete player ratings from their triumph which saw them overcome any sort of mid-week wobble.
Key Match Statistics Bayer Leverkusen Stats 1.FC Kaiserslautern 61% Possession 39% 14 Total shots 7 4 Shots on target 2 5 Corner kicks 1 2 Yellow cards 3 1 Red cards 0 Ensured to stay alert despite having very little to do in the first half. He did produce a string of excellent saves in the second half, keeping his side in front at times.
The pe.