Alonso reaches 50 Bundesliga wins

That 50th victory was brought up in impressive style as Leverkusen ran out 5-1 winners against Freiburg. Alonso has been a revelation since taking charge of Die Werkself, winning the league undefeated in his first full season in the dugout, whilst also leading his side to DFB Cup and Supercup wins, as well as a UEFA Europa League final.

Watch: Leverkusen 5-1 Freiburg – highlights 

So far in this campaign, Alonso has shown that last season was not just a case of beginner’s luck, winning nine, drawing five and losing just one of the opening 15 games. His side currently sit in second place, four points behind Bayern Munich and on their way to another title charge.

Naturally, reaching such a milestone means that there are some especially noteworthy wins within those 50.

Winning the Bundesliga meant toppling the fearsome Bayern, who had a firm grip on the league until last season having won 11 titles on the bounce. A daunting task indeed, and one that starts with taking points off them when you get the chance, which Alonso’s side did in spectacular fashion on Matchday 21 of the 2023/24 season when they won 3-0 at the BayArena. Leverkusen started the game without the talismanic Victor Boniface due to injury and also had the electric Jeremie Frimpong on the bench. This made little difference, though, as Frimpong’s replacement was Bayern loanee Josip Stanišić, who opened the scoring in the 18th minute. Alejandro Grimaldo doubled their lead from the other flank shortly after half-time, before Frimpong put the icing on what proved to be a statement victory in the final moments of the game.

Watch: Leverkusen 3-0 Bayern - highlights

Late victories were certainly a theme throughout that title winning season, with Alonso’s men developing a taste for the dramatic as they stormed to the title. Matchday 18 of last term saw them meet RB Leipzig for the second time, having already beaten them 3-2 in their opening game of the season. With the game looking destined for a 2-2 draw this time around, Piero Hincapié stepped up to secure the three points for his side, sliding in at the back post to convert one of many delicious deliveries from Grimaldo with the final whistle just moments away. With Bayern just one point behind them at this stage, victory was vital, as sides rarely recover when Bayern take that top spot.

From that point on, there was no looking back for Alonso's charges, who secured their title win with games to spare. The victory that clinched the club’s first ever Bundesliga title was an emphatic one, too – a 5-0 win at home to Werder Bremen on Matchday 29, featuring a first senior Florian Wirtz hat-trick.

Watch: The best of Bayer Leverkusen in 2023/24

A re-shuffled starting XI didn’t affect Leverkusen’s fluidity going forward, even with Wirtz, the eventual Bundesliga Player of the Season, on the bench. Boniface got his side off the mark in the 25th minute, before Granit Xhaka doubled their lead on the hour mark. Wirtz did of course make an appearance, coming on after the break to hit a second-half hat-trick to sink Bremen and solidify his status as one of Europe’s brightest young talents – oh, and win his first senior title.

While the current 2024/25 season is far from over, there have already been some standout victories for Leverkusen. They have scored four or more goals on four occasions already this season, with one of those games being a 4-3 win against Wolfsburg.

Not only did this high-scoring game highlight that Leverkusen are still incredible going forward, it also showed that the steely determination which saw them come from behind so often last season is very much still there. They came from behind twice in this game, with Boniface scoring in additional time to turn one point into three and add another game into the ‘late winner’ catalogue.

Watch: Leverkusen 4-3 Wolfsburg - highlights

Their most recent win against Freiburg, who were in fifth place and unbeaten in three at the time, landed Alonso his well-deserved milestone victory.

The Spaniard brought up that half century from only 75 games since taking over in October 2022 with the Werkself languishing down in 17th place. It's seen him surpass eight-time Bundesliga champion Udo Lattek as the second-quickest coach to the total, who did so in 78 matches. Alonso is someway short of the record holder, though. Pep Guardiola stormed to 50 wins from only 61 games in the German top flight.

An average of 2.23 points per game for Alonso in the Bundesliga also ranks him among the all-time top three for coaches with at least 50 matches under their belt, behind Hansi Flick (2.45) and Guardiola (2.52).

The Freiburg win also means that Leverkusen collected 80 Bundesliga points in 2024 - the most of any side. After the victory, Alonso reflected on a successful year, whilst also looking ahead to 2025: “The whole team was on top of their game today and that makes us feel good. We have great ambition to carry on battling for our targets in 2025 and we want to achieve a lot together."

Midfield maestro Xhaka was equally delighted with the victory, and the year as a whole: “We were very dominant on and off the ball so it was completely deserved overall. Things are going really well for us again. A great finish to a great year. I'm over the moon to be here in Leverkusen."

With just one loss so far in 2024/25, as well as progress to the DFB Cup quarter-finals and being well placed in the UEFA Champions League, the Werkself are showing no signs of slowing down, and it promises to be another fruitful season for Alonso and his free-flowing Leverkusen side.