Bayer Leverkusen wins the German Cup and completes undefeated domestic double

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Leverkusen goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky holds up the trophy while his teammates celebrate winning the German Soccer Cup final match between 1. FC Kaiserslautern and Bayer Leverkusen at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, May 25, 2024. (Federico Gambarini/dpa via AP)

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Leverkusen’s head coach Xabi Alonso lifts the trophy after the German Soccer Cup final match between 1. FC Kaiserslautern and Bayer Leverkusen at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, May 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

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Leverkusen’s goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky lifts the trophy after the German Soccer Cup final match between 1. FC Kaiserslautern and Bayer Leverkusen at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, May 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

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Leverkusen’s head coach Xabi Alonso throws the trophy after the German Soccer Cup final match between 1. FC Kaiserslautern and Bayer Leverkusen at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, May 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

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Jugadores del Bayer Leverkusen celebran con el trofeo tras ganar la final de la Copa Alemana al vencer al Kaiserslaustern el sábado 25 de mayo del 2024. (AP Foto/Matthias Schrader)

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Leverkusen’s head coach Xabi Alonso, center, celebrates after the German Soccer Cup final match between 1. FC Kaiserslautern and Bayer Leverkusen at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, May 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

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Leverkusen fans celebrate their team during the German Soccer Cup final match between 1. FC Kaiserslautern and Bayer Leverkusen at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, May 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

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Leverkusen’s Granit Xhaka, right, celebrates after scoring his side’s opening goal during the German Soccer Cup final match between 1. FC Kaiserslautern and Bayer Leverkusen at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, May 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

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Leverkusen’s Granit Xhaka, center, celebrates with team mates after scoring his side’s opening goal during the German Soccer Cup final match between 1. FC Kaiserslautern and Bayer Leverkusen at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, May 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

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Leverkusen’s Amine Adli, left, and Kaiserslautern’s Boris Tomiak fight for the ball during the German Soccer Cup final match between 1. FC Kaiserslautern and Bayer Leverkusen at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, May 25, 2024. (Federico Gambarini/dpa via AP)

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Kaiserslautern fans set off pyrotechnics during the German Soccer Cup final match between 1. FC Kaiserslautern and Bayer Leverkusen at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, May 25, 2024. (Sebastian Christoph Gollnow/dpa via AP)

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Kaiserslauter fans lit flares during the German Soccer Cup final match between 1. FC Kaiserslautern and Bayer Leverkusen at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, May 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

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Leverkusen fans lit flares during the German Soccer Cup final match between 1. FC Kaiserslautern and Bayer Leverkusen at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, May 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

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Kaiserslautern supporters cheer their team during the German Soccer Cup final match between 1. FC Kaiserslautern and Bayer Leverkusen at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, May 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

By CIARÁN FAHEY

BERLIN (AP) — Granit Xhaka’s early strike was enough for Bayer Leverkusen to win the German Cup final 1-0 over Kaiserslautern for an unbeaten domestic double on Saturday.

Xhaka fired the ball in under the crossbar from distance in the 16th minute. It proved to be enough against second-division Kaiserslautern despite losing defender Odilon Kossounou to a second yellow card just before the break.

Leverkusen won the Bundesliga unbeaten, an historic feat. The only blip on the record of Xabi Alonso’s team this season was losing the Europa League final to Atalanta 3-0 on Wednesday in Dublin. That ended Leverkusen’s record 51-game unbeaten run across all competitions. It was its only loss in 53 games this season.

“The whole journey, the whole season was wonderful,” the Spanish coach said after doubling Leverkusen’s trophy haul in just one season. “What we did this season is unbelievable.”

Alonso and his players ran to their fans after the whistle on Saturday in Berlin’s Olympiastadion. They had supported the team loudly throughout, though were drowned at times by the even more vociferous Kaiserslautern supporters.

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They displayed a spectacular tifo of a red devil grasping the trophy in front of a hellish background of fire and brimstone before the game. Flares sending red smoke into the sky embellished the effect – and gave an inkling of what was to come.

The stadium announcer’s repeated requests to stop the pyrotechnics were met with continued indifference. The second half began to a huge fireworks display from the Leverkusen fans.

Despite the smoke above, there was little fire on the field after a long hard season. Kossounou was booked for stopping Kenny Prince Redondo’s break in the third minute, then issued another yellow for a foul on Boris Tomiak in the 44th.

It didn’t stop the Leverkusen machine from grinding out the win. Jeremie Frimpong should have made it 2-0 in the 75th after going past the goalkeeper.

It’s Leverkusen’s second German Cup title after beating Hertha Berlin’s reserve team in the 1993 final. Leverkusen’s other trophy is the 1988 UEFA Cup.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer