Unbeaten Kings! Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen Make European History

• Europa League: Bayer Leverkusen and Atalanta advance to final in Dublin
• Bayer Leverkusen vs Roma: Xabi Alonso using last season’s Europa League defeat as motivation to reach final

On Thursday, May 9th, Xabi Alonso and Bayer Leverkusen went undefeated for a record-breaking 49th game in a row, following a 2-2 draw at home to AS Roma in the Europa League Semi-final Second Leg tie. 

This dramatic game saw Bayer go 2-0 down to the Romans following a brace from Leandro Paredes. However, Bayer’s “never say die” attitude saw them pull a goal back through Gianluca Mancini’s own goal and, finally, a dramatic 97th-minute equaliser from Josip Stanisic! This sees Bayer Leverkusen break the previous record of 48 unbeaten games in European football.

This record was previously held by the Portuguese side Benfica, who went unbeaten for 48 games between the years of 1963 and 1965. This record has stood ever since, with Dinamo Zagreb coming closest to equalling it in 2015 and Rijeka in 2017 after a run of 45 games undefeated. 

Now, in his first full season in charge of Bayer Leverkusen, Liverpool, Real Madrid, and Bayern Munich legend Xabi Alonso has guided them to a historic 49-game unbeaten run, with the Bundesliga already wrapped up! Bayer is just four games away from achieving something no one else in the history of European football has been able to achieve. 

Longest European Unbeaten Runs

Below is a table of the longest unbeaten runs in European football history, including Benfica’s record, held since 1965! 

Bayer Leverkusen Remaining Games This Season

After already securing the Bundesliga crown and progressing to the 2024 Europa League Final in Dublin, Bayer Leverkusen now have a total of 4 games remaining this season, two of which are cup finals! 

First, they take on VFL Bochum in the Bundesliga on May 12th before hosting Ausburg on the campaign’s final day on May 18th.

Then, on Wednesday, May 22nd, Leverkusen will take on Atalanta in Dublin for the Europa League Final. Just three days later, they will head back to Berlin to take on 1. FCK in the DFB Pokal Final! Can Leverkusen and Xabi Alonso go another four games unbeaten and make it a whopping 53 games unbeaten this season?

Conclusion 

Will Bayer Leverkusen be able to extend their unbeaten run this season to over fifty games and become the first European team in history to achieve this? Following their 2-2 draw to Roma, it sure looks likely! With four games remaining this season, it looks increasingly likely that Xabi Alonso will win a historic invincible treble in his first full season in charge of Bayer!