Werkself review #FCKB04: One season, two trophies

Summary: Maturity and willpower clinch the double

The Werkself were quick to take command right from kick-off against a spirited Kaiserslautern side. Leverkusen came close to taking the lead early on thanks to impressive individual efforts from Jeremie Frimpong (10') and Florian Wirtz (15'). Just one minute after Wirtz's solo effort, Granit Xhaka rewarded the new German champions' dominant play with a long-distance effort that flew into the top left corner to give Bayer 04 an early 1-0 lead (16'). After going ahead, the Black and Reds took complete control of the game and Kaiserslautern retreated into their own half, which made what happened next with Odilon Kossounou all the more annoying. The defender, who had already been cautioned, stepped on Boris Tomiak's foot as he tussled for the ball, was shown a second yellow card by referee Bastian Dankert and headed off for an early shower. In the second half, the Werkself remained composed and - despite being a man down - were the dominant team, with Kaiserslautern rarely causing any problems. This resulted in further chances, the best of which went to Frimpong in the 74th minute: Wirtz initiated a counter-attack and then fed the Dutchman, who was rushing forward with him on the right flank. The Netherlands international went round FCK keeper Krahl, but then failed to find his teammate with the return pass (76'). That means it finished 1-0, making Bayer 04 Leverkusen winners of the double. The full match report

Reaction: "The whole journey was wonderful"

"The most important thing was the team's belief. They were prepared to fight when they were a man down," said head coach Xabi Alonso after the final whistle. The Spaniard was emotional in the press conference afterwards: "The whole journey this season has been wonderful. To finish today with this energy and belief - especially after Wednesday - was incredible. I'm very proud of the team. They gave me enough reasons at half-time to believe in the win. I'm very grateful for everything. Now we finally have time to savour and process it all." Reacting to the fact that his team had to play with ten men for the first time this season, he said: "It was exemplary for the season. They like these challenges and want to show they can cope and play well in all sorts of different situations."

At the same time, Alonso was already looking to the future: "We want to continue to be hungry. That's my task. Maybe not today and not tomorrow. But from Monday, I have the desire to start preparing something new."

Fernando Carro told the media representatives: "We endured a lot. The red card towards the end of the first half meant that the second half wasn't easy. But we showed moral fibre, everyone fought and threw themselves into the game. The players did an excellent job. We deserved to win the cup. It's a satisfying end after we couldn't win in Dublin on Wednesday."

"It was tough, of course. You can't have that dominance anymore. But we had chances and controlled the game, and we deserved to win in the end," said sporting managing director Simon Rolfes on Sky TV: "We haven't really celebrated yet, but we'll celebrate a little longer today."

What the papers say: "Champions who proved their maturity when down to ten men"

The Rheinische Post headline was: "Xhaka fires Leverkusen to the double with dream goal" and described the latest title as one that "may not make them forget the painful result in the Europa League against Atalanta, but it'll help them a lot in coming to terms with it." Sport Bild called it the "double celebration!" and Bild summed it up as follows: "Ultimately, the Werkself's cup win is richly deserved, especially as Kaiserslautern were not able to make their superior numbers count for even a second. Even while a man down, the Black & Reds' defence was almost completely untroubled, with the Red Devils only posing a rudimentary threat with a few long-range shots. Congratulations therefore go to the champions, who proved their maturity when down to ten men." kicker wrote: "Xhaka's dream goal makes the difference", and the Kölner-Stadt-Anzeiger added: "It was a perfect moment of total control".

Personnel: Adli in first place

Amine Adli is the top scorer of the 2023/24 DFB Cup campaign: With five goals and four assists, the 21-year-old beat Fabian Reese from Hertha BSC into second place, with Marcel Hartel from FC St. Pauli in third - congratulations!

Stats: More possession despite being a man down

Despite being outnumbered for a whole half, the Werkself had 60.8 per cent possession with a pass completion rate of just over 89 per cent. FCK, on the other hand, won 55.4 per cent of all tackles. Bayer 04 also didn't concede a goal in three of their six games - no other team kept a clean sheet more often in this cup campaign.

Up next: "Coming Home" at the BayArena

The crowning glory of this extraordinary 2023/24 season will be the "Coming Home" event at the BayArena: The Werkself will land at Cologne/Bonn Airport at around 13.30 CEST on Sunday, 26 May. They will then travel in the team bus to Morsbroich Palace, where the players will sign the Golden Book of the City of Leverkusen. From Morsbroich Palace, the team will travel to the BayArena in a convoy of open-top vehicles. The grand finale of the season will then take place at the BayArena. The stadium opens at 12.30 CEST. From 13.30 CEST, fans can expect a (stage) programme with various highlights. While awaiting the arrival of the Werkself at the BayArena later in the afternoon, fans can enjoy the programme in the stadium and follow the team's current position on large video screens. All the info on the route of the convoy, acts and other programme highlights can be found HERE.