Leverkusen unbeaten streak up to 48 after rout over Frankfurt

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Palacios extends Bayer Leverkusen's lead from the penalty spot

Exequiel Palacios makes it 3-1 to Bayer Leverkusen from the penalty spot against Frankfurt.

Updated: May 5, 2024, 11:39 pm

Champions Bayer Leverkusen extended their unbeaten streak as they secured a 5-1 away victory over Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga on Sunday.

Manager Xabi Alonso, whose side was heavily rotated, had to watch from the stands as he served a touchline ban for yellow card accumulation, but it made no difference as Leverkusen continued their dominant form this season.

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"Our level, our consistency throughout the season is great. But we are always moving forward. We are always concentrating on the work and improving," Alonso said.

The result leaves Leverkusen at the summit with 84 points, while Frankfurt sit sixth with 45. Leverkusen's record unbeaten run now extends to 48 matches across all competitions -- levelling Benfica's 59-year-old record in European football since the introduction of UEFA club competitions.

It was also a record-setting night for Leverkusen goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky, who set a Bundesliga record for the most appearances in goal for a non-German player.

"The curse has finally been broken after five years," Hradeck said of winning at Frankfurt for the first time in his career. "It always felt good to win here with the home team and this time we managed it with the away team.

"The run keeps going, hopefully for another five games. It's simply a joy to play with Bayer at the moment."

Leverkusen broke the deadlock with Granit Xhaka's bending strike from outside the box after 12 minutes, while Frankfurt equalised at the 32nd minute with Hugo Ekitike's perfectly timed header, surpassing Leverkusen's defence.

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The visitors could have gone two ahead minutes later but a valiant effort from the Frankfurt defence denied Leverkusen a clear opportunity on an open goal.

Leverkusen regained the lead, though, just before half-time with Patrick Schick's towering header, and secured their third goal in the 58th minute from a penalty converted by Exequiel Palacios after Niels Nkounkou pulled Nathan Tella by the shirt.

Jeremie Frimpong added a fourth for the visitors at the 77th minute, tapping in from short distance a cross into the box while Victor Boniface made it five from the penalty spot a minute before time after Ansgar Knauff tripped Frimpong.

Along with being Bundesliga champions, Leverkusen are still alive in the Europa League semifinals with a second leg against Roma looming Thursday and the finals of the German Cup where they face Kaiserslautern in the final on May 25.

"It's a big challenge, we have two [league] games left, it will be the perfect run. We will certainly try," Alonso said. "We still have games to play to achieve our big goals in all competitions. The next game is important for us, the second leg of the Europa League semifinal: a chance to reach the final.

"In football it's sometimes difficult to stop. You have to prepare for the next game. And the next game is a big game for us. Hopefully we have the chance to be in a European final again."