He believes the Bavarians deserved the win, by dint of their “outstanding season”.
Bayern Munich won the Bundesliga this year with a 11 point lead over Bayer 04 Leverkusen. The latter clinched the double last year — the Bundesliga and the DFB Pokal; the league was on won with a 18 point lead over the Bavarians. Die Werkself’s journey to the double was almost movie-like and came after years of being titled “Neverkusen” by pundits and fans. The team also reached the Europa League final against Atalanta, and despite losing 3-0, they managed to win the hearts of several fans across the globe.
A key player in Leverkusen’s dream season was Granit Xhaka. The former Gladbach and Arsenal FC man was signed for a five-year deal in the summer of 2023. He was a man reborn under manager Xabi Alonso — leading the team with his expertise and skillsets. His singular goal won them the Pokal against FC Kaiserslautern.
Despite Xhaka and Leverkusen’s valiant efforts, they could not win the league — Bayern under Vincent Kompany came out of their rut and put up a strong fight to win the league. Speaking to DAZN, the Swiss captain congratulated the Bavarians for the well-deserved win.
“Congratulations to Bayern, they’ve had an outstanding season,” he said, as transcribed by @iMiaSanMia. “We tried until the end, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough. We conceded stupid goals and dropped too many points against opponents we really should have beaten.
“We’ll definitely be back on the attack next season.”
It remains to be seen how Leverkusen will handle the loss of Xabi Alonso, who has made the move to his former club Real Madrid. Without Alonso at the helm, and the upcoming transfer of Florian Wirtz, Leverkusen will be punted into a difficult period of transition. But one can only wish them the best in their pursuits.
