In the 2-1 victory of Bayer Leverkusen over Mainz in the early hours of February 24th, Xhaka, after scoring a goal, pretended to be injured, prompting the coach to call the medical team onto the field. In the 23rd round of the Bundesliga, Leverkusen hosted the bottom-ranked team on the standings. Coach Xabi Alonso’s team played confidently and scored two goals from outside the penalty area, one by Granit Xhaka in the 3rd minute and another by Robert Andrich in the 68th minute.
After scoring a beautiful goal, Xhaka celebrated by placing his hand behind his thigh and walking calmly. Coach Alonso thought his Swiss player was showing off an injured muscle, so he called the medical team onto the field. However, Xhaka was completely healthy. He smiled and continued celebrating with his teammates. It was only then that Coach Alonso sighed with relief and sent the medical staff back.
Despite Mainz equalizing in the 8th minute, Leverkusen still secured 3 points thanks to Andrich’s goal. The home team’s effort was aided by the Mainz goalkeeper’s mistake. Andrich’s shot was not particularly dangerous but was powerful enough to slip through Robin Zentner’s hands and into the net.
Leverkusen extended their unbeaten streak this season to 34 matches, becoming the German club with the longest winning streak in history, breaking Bayern Munich’s record of 33 matches. Leverkusen is also the only club in Europe that has not lost after two-thirds of the season has passed.
The home victory also widened Leverkusen’s lead over Bayern to 11 points with one more match played. Coach Alonso’s team is presented with an excellent opportunity to end Bayern’s 11-year Bundesliga dominance in Bavaria.
Furthermore, Leverkusen could become one of the few teams to win a championship with an unbeaten record, a feat achieved in Europe only by Arsenal in the 2003/2004 Premier League season and Juventus in the 2011/2012 Serie A season.