Former Arsenal star Granit Xhaka has capped off his historic campaign with Bayer Leverkusen in the best possible way.
Xhaka enjoyed a fantastic season with Arsenal as they finished second in the Premier League, but moved to Bayer Leverkusen last year to link up with Xabi Alonso.
This proved to be a masterstroke for both Xhaka and Alonso. Together, they won Leverkusen’s first-ever Bundesliga title, and they did it without losing a single league game.
Their first loss of the season, and Xhaka’s first defeat since Arsenal lost 1-0 at Nottingham Forest over a year ago came in the Europa League final, as they were demolished by an Atalanta side containing former Arsenal flop Sead Kolasinac.
However, they bounced back from this defeat to continue making history, as they sealed their second trophy of the campaign with the DFB-Pokal, beating second-tier side Kaiserslautern in the final, and Xhaka scored the only goal of the game.
Granit Xhaka scores winning goal as Leverkusen win German Cup
In what was a tougher game than anticipated, Leverkusen fought off early pressure from Kaiserslautern to take the lead, with Xhaka scoring yet another stunning long-range effort.
Xhaka picked up the ball from over 25 yards out, with several defenders in front of him, but he stunned the entire Olympiastadion with an incredible first-time strike which found the top corner in the 26th minute.
The shot evaded every defender, and the goalkeeper had no chance as it flew into the net, and it gave Leverkusen a much-needed lead given what was to come in the game.
On the stroke of the half-time whistle, Leverkusen centre-back Odilon Kossounou received a second yellow card, and his side had to play the rest of the game with 10 men.
Kaiserslautern threatened in the second half, whilst Leverkusen failed to take the chances they had, but they remained resolute, with Xhaka dropping a masterclass in midfield, to keep a clean sheet to win the cup.
Granit Xhaka caps off outstanding Leverkusen campaign with legendary moment
Xhaka has been one of, if not Leverkusen’s best performer, in a campaign which will be remembered for years.
Leverkusen have completed a league and cup double for the first time in their entire history, with just one loss in 53 games across all competitions.
Xhaka appeared in 50 of these matches, scoring four times and providing two assists, and his dominant performances in the middle of the park showed that Mikel Arteta let go of one of Europe’s very best midfielders.