Outnumbered for half a game and an opponent fighting for every meter: Bayer 04 Leverkusen had to suffer in the DFB Cup final – but defeated a brilliantly fighting 1. FC Kaiserslautern and celebrated the first double in the club’s history.
There are a number of guides with a wealth of tips explaining how to turn “pain into energy”. And that was the task that Bayer Leverkusen’s coach Xabi Alonso set his team on the eve of the DFB Cup final. It was not an easy task, but they managed it: three days after the 0:3 defeat against Atalanta Bergamo in the Europa League final in Dublin, Leverkusen beat 1. FC Kaiserslautern 1:0 in the DFB Cup final thanks to a goal from Granit Xhaka (16th minute) – and, as newly crowned German champions, secured the double for the first time in the club’s history. It was achieved with great effort – because Lautern fought brilliantly, and because Leverkusen had to play with ten men for half a time after a yellow-red card against Odilon Kossounou (44th).