Bayer Leverkusen Completes Unprecedented Unbeaten Bundesliga Season, Cologne Relegated

Bayer Leverkusen's Spanish head coach Xabi Alonso celebrates with the Bundesliga trophy after the German first division Bundesliga football match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and FC Augsburg in Leverkusen, western Germany on May 18, 2024. (AFP)
Bayer Leverkusen's Spanish head coach Xabi Alonso celebrates with the Bundesliga trophy after the German first division Bundesliga football match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and FC Augsburg in Leverkusen, western Germany on May 18, 2024. (AFP)
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Bayer Leverkusen Completes Unprecedented Unbeaten Bundesliga Season, Cologne Relegated

Bayer Leverkusen's Spanish head coach Xabi Alonso celebrates with the Bundesliga trophy after the German first division Bundesliga football match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and FC Augsburg in Leverkusen, western Germany on May 18, 2024. (AFP)
Bayer Leverkusen's Spanish head coach Xabi Alonso celebrates with the Bundesliga trophy after the German first division Bundesliga football match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and FC Augsburg in Leverkusen, western Germany on May 18, 2024. (AFP)

League champion Bayer Leverkusen became the first team to complete a Bundesliga season undefeated on Saturday.

Early goals from Victor Boniface and Robert Andrich gave Leverkusen a 2-1 win over Augsburg in their last game of the season.

The win was their 28th in 34 Bundesliga games.

Leverkusen, which won the title in April to end Bayern Munich’s 11-year run, is the first team to complete an unbeaten season in any of Europe’s top five leagues since Juventus in the Italian Serie A in 2011-12.

Leverkusen hasn’t lost a game in any competition all season, a 51-game unbeaten run.

It had a firm grip on Augsburg but Mert Kömür pulled one back in the 62nd minute, prompting Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso to send on Florian Wirtz and Granit Xhaka, the star players he’d been trying to rest before the Europa League and German Cup finals next week.

Local rival Cologne was relegated. Cologne's hopes of avoiding the drop evaporated in a 4-1 loss at Heidenheim.

Janik Haberer scored in stoppage time for Union Berlin to clinch survival with a 2-1 win over Freiburg. Union’s win meant Bochum dropped into the relegation playoff place after losing at Werder Bremen 4-1.

Stuttgart finished second at Bayern Munich’s expense with a 4-0 win over Borussia Mönchengladbach, while Bayern slumped to a 4-2 loss at Hoffenheim in Thomas Tuchel’s last game as coach.

Mainz ensured its survival with a 3-1 win at Wolfsburg.



F1 Seeks to Spice up Monaco GP with More Mandatory Pitstops

Ferrari’s Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc drives during the third practice session of the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix on May 25, 2024. (AFP)
Ferrari’s Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc drives during the third practice session of the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix on May 25, 2024. (AFP)
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F1 Seeks to Spice up Monaco GP with More Mandatory Pitstops

Ferrari’s Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc drives during the third practice session of the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix on May 25, 2024. (AFP)
Ferrari’s Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc drives during the third practice session of the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix on May 25, 2024. (AFP)

Formula One's governing body is planning to spice up the showcase Monaco Grand Prix by forcing teams to carry out more pitstops.

The FIA said in a statement that an F1 commission meeting in London on Tuesday had discussed "proposals for Monaco-specific regulations" to promote less processional racing at the tight and twisty circuit.

"The commission agreed to increase the numbers of mandatory pitstops in the race," it added, without providing further details.

"These proposals will be further discussed by the sporting advisory committee in the coming weeks."

The current mandatory minimum is one pitstop per race.

Overtaking is extremely difficult around Monaco, with qualifying and pole position a much more crucial element than at other races.

The FIA said there would also no longer be any restriction on the number of gearboxes teams could use during a season as the reliability of current designs had rendered the regulation obsolete.