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.



Tsitsipas Hoping to ‘Reinvent’ Himself in Search for Stability

This handout photo released by Tennis Australia on December 27, 2024, shows Greece's team member Stefanos Tsitsipas attending a press conference at the United Cup tennis tournament in Perth. (Tennis Australia / AFP)
This handout photo released by Tennis Australia on December 27, 2024, shows Greece's team member Stefanos Tsitsipas attending a press conference at the United Cup tennis tournament in Perth. (Tennis Australia / AFP)
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Tsitsipas Hoping to ‘Reinvent’ Himself in Search for Stability

This handout photo released by Tennis Australia on December 27, 2024, shows Greece's team member Stefanos Tsitsipas attending a press conference at the United Cup tennis tournament in Perth. (Tennis Australia / AFP)
This handout photo released by Tennis Australia on December 27, 2024, shows Greece's team member Stefanos Tsitsipas attending a press conference at the United Cup tennis tournament in Perth. (Tennis Australia / AFP)

Two-time Grand Slam finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas said on Friday he needs to break out of a rut and start afresh in 2025 after winning just one title in the previous campaign and dropping out of the world's top 10.

The Greek world number 11, who claimed his only win at the Monte Carlo Masters, has also ended his collaboration with his father Apostolos as his coach.

"I'm looking at kind of reinventing myself," said Tsitsipas, who begins his season at the Dec. 27-Jan. 5 United Cup mixed team event.

"I felt like I've been stuck in a pattern over the last few months. I haven't been able to kind of unlock the pattern.

"I'm looking for a fresh, new 2025. That doesn't mean to suddenly just start winning everything.

"It's just to see a trajectory of constant improvement and improving in all fields in my career, but also in my outside life ... I want to have stability in my life," he told reporters.

Tsitsipas is starting the year outside the top 10 for the first time since 2019 and he hoped that would take some of the pressure off him.

"I don't think there's that much pressure when you're outside of the top 10. Well, probably there is some pressure in terms of like now it's my opportunity to add on points and get some good weeks going," he said.

The United Cup will serve as part of Tsitsipas' preparations for the Australian Open, where the 26-year-old reached the final in 2023.