Liverpool's loss is Leverkusen's gain as Xabi Alonso wraps up fairytale Bundesliga title

While Liverpool toiled in vain against Crystal Palace at Anfield on Sunday, over in Germany Xabi Alonso was putting the finishing touches to an incredible Bundesliga title-winning campaign for Bayer Leverkusen. 

The Werkself remain unbeaten in the German top flight after 29 matches and have now compiled an unassailable 16-point lead over Bayern Munich at the summit. 

Bayern’s 11-season winning streak is finally at an end with Alonso clinching Leverkusen’s first-ever title win. 

The last team to beat FC Hollywood to top spot were Jurgen Klopp’s Borussia Dortmund, back in 2011-12, the year before his great rival Pep Guardiola moved to Bavaria. 

Liverpool are licking their wounds this morning with the fate of the Premier League title out of their hands. 

Defeat to Palace, combined with Arsenal’s loss to Aston Villa later in the day, means Pep’s Manchester City now have a golden opportunity to add a sixth title in seven Premier League seasons. 

Only Klopp’s Liverpool have managed to keep City off top spot since 2018. 

The Reds have been stuttering in recent weeks with their quadruple hopes crumbling. 

Manchester United knocked them out of the FA Cup at the quarter-final stage, then compounded the misery by restricting Liverpool to a 2-2 draw in the Premier League last week. 

Then Atalanta came calling on Thursday night in the Europa League quarter-finals, winning 3-0 at Anfield and appearing to be out of sight ahead of this week’s second leg. 

And finally, on Sunday, Oliver Glasner’s side picked up a famous win on Merseyside. 

The Reds have been wavering in their title quests but there has been no such unravelling for Alonso’s champions as they seek to achieve glory on three fronts. 

Alonso's Leverkusen close in on historic treble

They will play Kaiserslautern in the DFB-Pokal final in late May and have a healthy two-goal lead in their Europa League quarter-final over West Ham ahead of this week’s second leg in London. 

Having already sealed the Bundesliga title, their focus will now be on remaining unbeaten and adding two more titles to Alonso’s record-breaking season. 

It’s the 42-year-old Spaniard’s first full season in charge of Leverkusen having been appointed to take over from Gerardo Seoane in October 2022 with the side second from bottom in the Bundesliga and looking like relegation contenders. 

It’s been a remarkable rise for both club and manager, leading to speculation that he would replace Klopp at Anfield. 

However, in late March he pledged his future to Leverkusen and looks well placed to consistently challenge Bayern’s dominance in the years ahead. 

Who knows what the future holds for Alonso, with the Reds, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich all circling. 

For now however, Liverpool’s loss is certainly Leverkusen’s gain.