At the beginning of the 2023/24 season few would have guessed that Bayer Leverkusen would be able to sustain a title challenge through the end of the year and knock Bayern Munich off its perch.
But Die Werkself have done it and more, maintaining — to date — a still-invincible league season. At what point did hope crystallize into belief? Star forward and Germany international Jonas Hofmann shared his thoughts after Leverkusen’s title-clinching 5-0 win over Werder Bremen on Sunday.
And he traced it back to Leverkusen’s match against Bayern back in February — when the title race was much closer. It was the sort of game where Bayern usually took command and put any Bundesliga challengers to the sword. The Bavarians had done that so many times in recent years against Borussia Dortmund, after all.
Not this time. Leverkusen smashed Bayern to the tune of 3-0, and the feeling of a changing of the guard was in the air.
“[When did Leverkusen realize they could win the title?] After the win against [FC Bayern] when many people expected them to be there when it matters,” Hofmann said in comments captured by Az journalist Victor Catalina. “We took a lot out of this game, it gave the team a push.
“The weeks after we were fixated on the title as [Bayern] didn’t drop points yet and we had to keep going. Some of us even wished for Bayern to win in order for us not to drop off.”
Now that is a championship mentality.