Bayer Leverkusen quickly put Wednesday's Europa League final defeat to Atalanta behind them, coach Xabi Alonso said on Friday as they prepare to cap an already memorable season by winning the DFB Pokal (German Cup) on Saturday.
The newly crowned Bundesliga champions, who will achieve their first domestic double with victory over second division side Kaiserslautern in Saturday's final, lost 3-0 to Atalanta in the Europa League final in Dublin on Wednesday.
– Stream LIVE: DFB Pokal final, Bayer Leverkusen vs. Kaiserslautern, Saturday 5/25, 1:30 pm ET, ESPN+
It was their first defeat of the season in all competitions after an unbeaten run in the Bundesliga to the title and a European record 51 unbeaten matches.
“It's been a long road to get here, since August of last year,” Alonso said of Saturday's performance at Berlin's Olympic stadium.
“We are here. It is great to have the last game of the season as a finale. After Wednesday we are ready and focused for tomorrow. We have to be hungry and I think after Wednesday we are even more hungry.”
Before this season's Bundesliga title, Leverkusen's last trophy was the 1993 German Cup.
Alonso said the team had little time to review their first loss of the season, but they had put it behind them and had a chance to achieve the double.
“The time for analysis is short because now we focus on tomorrow. What happened on Wednesday hopefully will not have much influence,” Alonso said.
“We have to continue after the defeat. The goal is big. Tomorrow we can crown it with the Cup. Dublin is gone and now we think about Berlin.”
