Beaten Bayer Leverkusen Hope To 'Find Themselves' In German Cup Final

Bayer Leverkusen face second-division Kaiserslautern in Saturday's German Cup final licking their wounds after a first loss in almost a year. Xabi Alonso's side were thoroughly outclassed in a 3-0 loss to Atalanta in the Europa League final on Wednesday, their first defeat in any competition since May 2023 -- a run of 51 games. Energetic and dynamic this season with a taste for late goals, Leverkusen looked a shadow of the team which thundered past Bayern Munich to win their first ever Bundesliga title this season. 

In a year when Alonso pledged to stick around with the club despite reported interest from Liverpool and Bayern, Leverkusen looked on track for a remarkable three trophies.

Now they need to rebound to stop their underdog opponents, who flirted with relegation to the third division for much of the campaign, spoiling what has been an incredible season.

A loss will recall the club's infamous 'Neverkusen' season in 2002, when they somehow emerged empty-handed despite being five points clear in the league with three games remaining, while also qualifying for the German Cup and Champions League finals.

Leverkusen's unbeaten run, which broke a 59-year-old record set by Portuguese giants Benfica in 1965, was bound to end sometime but it was the manner in which the club capitulated which will concern Alonso the most. 

The Germans were outmuscled by a determined Atalanta, with the reliable Florian Wirtz and Granit Xhaka, so important this season, having off nights. 

Winger Jonas Hofmann summed up the club's struggles on Wednesday night, lamenting "many mistakes, individual mistakes, bad passes and simple technical errors," saying the performance was "not Bayer-like".

"We weren't confident in the build-up," Hofmann