Nigeria’s Victor Boniface was on target as Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen crushed hosts VfL Bochum 5-0 on Sunday to stretch their remarkable unbeaten run across all competitions this season to 50 consecutive matches.
Patrik Schick’s crisp strike put Leverkusen ahead and Victor Boniface increased their lead from the penalty spot.
Amine Adli added a third in the second half with a header from a corner before late goals from Josip Stanisic and Alex Grimaldo completed the rout.
Xabi Alonso’s side are now within one game of completing the first part of an invincible treble.
If Leverkusen avoid defeat in their final league game of the season – at home to Augsburg next Saturday – they will become the first team to go through a Bundesliga campaign without tasting defeat.
Bayern Munich lost just once in their title successes of 1986-87 and 2012-13.
After next weekend the Bundesliga champions face Italian side Atalanta in the Europa League final in Dublin on 22 May and play in the German Cup final against Kaiserslautern in Berlin three days later.
The last time Leverkusen tasted defeat was way back in May 2023.
Their opponents on that occasion were none other than Bochum, who ran out 3-0 winners at the Vonovia Ruhrstadion on the final day of the 2022-23 Bundesliga season.
However, the chances of a repeat of that result looked remote from the moment Bochum defender Felix Passlack was sent off in the 15th minute,
Passlack clipped Nathan Tella as he threatened to break through on goal and was shown a straight red card.
With a numerical advantage Leverkusen patiently waited for their opportunity as Bochum put the shutters down.
It duly arrived in the 41st minute when Schick stylishly clipped a first-time shot from 10 yards into the net from Arthur’s superb cross.
Die Werkself were then awarded a penalty in first-half added time when the lively Tella was brought down by Keven Schlotterbeck.
Boniface calmly sent Bochum goalkeeper Manuel Riemann the wrong way from the spot.
There was no let up from Alonso’s side after the break and Adli powerfully headed in fellow substitute Jonas Hofmann’s corner in the 76th minute.
Stanisic then fired past the unsighted Riemann from the corner of the box before Grimaldo rounded off a ruthless counterattack in added time to tap into an empty net.
The ‘Never-kusen’ monker was ditched when they won the Bundesliga title with five games to spare.
‘Never-losing’ is a more appropriate one now as they stand on the brink of football immortality with three games of their season to go.
