Xhaka stunner seals double for 10-man Leverkusen
Bundesliga champion Bayer Leverkusen battled past second-tier Kaiserslautern 1-0 to win the DFB-Pokal and secure the club's first domestic double, despite being down to 10 men for the entirety of the second half.
Leverkusen missed out on a treble after losing 3-0 to Atalanta in the UEFA Europa League final last week, in what was its first defeat of the season in all competitions after a European record 51-game unbeaten run.
But at Berlin's Olympic Stadium, which will host the UEFA Euro 2024 final in July, Xabi Alonso's side ensured it capped off a remarkable campaign with another piece of silverware thanks to Granit Xhaka's stunning 16th-minute strike.
The ball rolled out to the former Arsenal man around 25 yards out, and he planted an unstoppable first-time effort into the left-hand side of the net.
Leverkusen controlled the pace even after it was reduced to 10 men after Odilon Kossounou's second booking a minute before half-time.
Kaiserslautern rarely threatened after the break, with Leverkusen limiting its opponent to just 0.2 expected goals.
Even though it could not add to its lead, Leverkusen was able to wrap up a second trophy of the best season in the club's history.
Leverkusen is only the fifth different side to win the double in Germany since the Bundesliga was founded, after Bayern Munich (13 times), Cologne, Werder Bremen and Borussia Dortmund.
Xhaka's strike was a worthy winner. He became the first Swiss player to score in a DFB-Pokal final.
