Leverkusen defender Jonathan Tah looks to finish historic season unbeaten and with more trophies

LEVERKUSEN, Germany (AP) — Jonathan Tah is already a German champion with Bayer Leverkusen. He's hungry for more titles.

Tah could yet complete a treble this season in the Europa League — where Leverkusen plays Roma in the semifinals next week — and in the German Cup. Then there's the European Championship with Germany, for which Tah has become a regular starter in central defense alongside Real Madrid's Antonio Rüdiger.

Leverkusen's players and coach Xabi Alonso — who Tah showered with beer during their title celebrations — aren't satisfied just with bringing the long-awaited first league title to a club once derided as “Neverkusen" for its near misses.

“This trophy gave us so much positive energy. To have that feeling to win a trophy, the hunger gets even bigger and that’s why we keep our level high," Tah tells The Associated Press. “One trophy is nice but there’s still more to achieve, so that’s why we keep pushing ourselves.”

Including the home game with Stuttgart on Saturday, Leverkusen is four games away from being the first German team to go unbeaten all season in the Bundesliga.

Tah and the rest of the defense have conceded in 30 league games just 20 goals — 17 fewer than Bayern Munich — and going unbeaten would be their crowning achievement.

“That means something for us because that’s never happened before,” Tah said. “We are racing ourselves because we are already Bundesliga champions. But that’s our own challenge now that we are playing for, and that’s why we want to keep that momentum and keep winning.”

Tah has been with Leverkusen since 2015 and is the club's second longest serving player. In that time, “the expectations of the club evolved” and Alonso has forged a competitive mindset, even in training, and rock-solid team spirit, Tah said.

“He’s expecting to win every game, no matter against who we play. He’s never scared. He always wants to win games and that’s his mindset,” Tah said of Alonso. Having a coach who won the World Cup and Champions League as a player opens up new possibilities in training. Clips from Alonso's sessions with Leverkusen have often gone viral as the coach casually plays pinpoint long passes or shows off his skills.

“He can show you what he wants to see from you and actually sometimes it’s really impressive how good his level still is,” Tah said. “I don’t want to take away (from) his tactical understanding and explaining the team on the (tactics) board and stuff like that, because he’s good at that as well, but of course he’s Xabi Alonso. He was a big player. He won everything. And if he explains something to you and shows it to you, it is different than a coach who has never played for a club before.”

Leverkusen's historic season will end with the German Cup final against Kaiserslautern on May 25 in Berlin. That comes three days after a potential Europa League final against Atalanta or Marseille in Dublin.

Tah's unlikely to get much rest after that. His performances with Leverkusen have helped to kick-start what had been a stop-start career with Germany. He's played every minute of Germany's last seven games, including every game since Julian Nagelsmann was appointed coach.

Tah believes Leverkusen's winning mindset could help Germany, too.

“That’s my part,” he said, "to bring that energy and that mindset that we have here in Leverkusen right now to the national team and try to do my best to support the team, so that we can be successful."

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FILE - Germany's Jonathan Tah, center, goes for a header with France's Jean-Clair Todibo, left, and Adrien Rabiot during the international friendly soccer match between Germany and France in Dortmund, Germany, Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023. Tah won the Bundesliga title already, and has also the chance to win the German Cup and the Europa League this season with Leverkusen. Tah is also defender for Germany's national team. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

FILE - Leverkusen's Florian Wirtz, right, celebrates with teammates Jonathan Tah, up, Victor Boniface, left, and Granit Xhaka, centre, after scoring a goal that was seconds later disallowed by a VAR decision during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund at the BayArena in Leverkusen, Germany, on Dec. 3, 2023. Excitement was building in Leverkusen, Germany on Sunday ahead of local team Bayer Leverkusen’s expected Bundesliga title win after an outstanding season so far. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File)

Leverkusen's Jonathan Tah, left, and Dortmund's Niclas Fuellkrug challenge for the ball during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen in Dortmund, Germany, Sunday, April 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

FILE - Leverkusen's Jonathan Tah, left, and Dortmund's Niclas Fuellkrug, right, go for a header during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen in Dortmund, Germany, Sunday, April 21, 2024. Tah won the Bundesliga title already, and has also the chance to win the German Cup and the Europa League this season with Leverkusen. Tah is also defender for Germany's national team. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Bayer Leverkusen defender Jonathan Tah talks to The Associated Press during an interview at the BayArena in Leverkusen, Germany, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. Tah won the Bundesliga title already, and has also the chance to win the German Cup and the Europa League this season with Leverkusen. Tah is also defender for Germany's national team. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Bayer Leverkusen defender Jonathan Tah talks to The Associated Press during an interview at the BayArena in Leverkusen, Germany, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. Tah won the Bundesliga title already, and has also the chance to win the German Cup and the Europa League this season with Leverkusen. Tah is also defender for Germany's national team. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Bayer Leverkusen defender Jonathan Tah talks to The Associated Press during an interview at the BayArena in Leverkusen, Germany, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. Tah won the Bundesliga title already, and has also the chance to win the German Cup and the Europa League this season with Leverkusen. Tah is also defender for Germany's national team. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Bayer Leverkusen defender Jonathan Tah talks to The Associated Press during an interview at the BayArena in Leverkusen, Germany, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. Tah won the Bundesliga title already, and has also the chance to win the German Cup and the Europa League this season with Leverkusen. Tah is also defender for Germany's national team. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Bayer Leverkusen defender Jonathan Tah talks to The Associated Press during an interview at the BayArena in Leverkusen, Germany, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. Tah won the Bundesliga title already, and has also the chance to win the German Cup and the Europa League this season with Leverkusen. Tah is also defender for Germany's national team. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Bayer Leverkusen defender Jonathan Tah talks to The Associated Press during an interview at the BayArena in Leverkusen, Germany, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. Tah won the Bundesliga title already, and has also the chance to win the German Cup and the Europa League this season with Leverkusen. Tah is also defender for Germany's national team. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

FILE - Leverkusen's Jonathan Tah, right, sprays beer on head coach Xabi Alonso after Bayer Leverkusen won the German Bundesliga title beating Werder Bremen in Leverkusen, Germany, Sunday, April 14, 2024. After the Bundesliga title, Tah has also the chance to win the German Cup and the Europa League this season with Leverkusen. He is also defender for Germany's national team. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Bayer Leverkusen defender Jonathan Tah talks to The Associated Press during an interview at the BayArena in Leverkusen, Germany, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. Tah won the Bundesliga title already, and has also the chance to win the German Cup and the Europa League this season with Leverkusen. Tah is also defender for Germany's national team. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

HOUSTON (AP) — High waters flooded neighborhoods around Houston on Saturday following heavy rains that resulted in crews rescuing more than 400 people from homes, rooftops and roads engulfed in murky water. Others prepared to evacuate their properties.

A flood watch remained in effect through Sunday afternoon as forecasters predicted additional rainfall Saturday night and the likelihood of major flooding in Harris County, the nation’s third-largest county which includes Houston, and nearby areas.

“A lull in heavy rain is expected through (Saturday) evening,” the National Weather Service reported. “The next round of heavy rainfall is expected late (Saturday) into Sunday.”

Up to 3 inches (7.6 centimeters) of additional rain was expected, with up to 5 inches (12.7 centimeters) possible in isolated areas.

Houston authorities have not reported any deaths or injuries. Judge Lina Hidalgo, Harris County’s top elected official, said Saturday that 178 people and 122 pets had been rescued so far in the county.

A wide region has been swamped from Houston to rural East Texas, where game wardens rode airboats through waist-high waters rescuing people and pets who did not evacuate in time. One crew brought a family and three dogs aboard as rising waters surrounded their cars and home.

“It’s going to keep rising this way,” said Miguel Flores Jr., of the northeast Houston neighborhood of Kingwood. “We don’t know how much more. We’re just preparing for the worst.”

Friday’s fierce storms forced numerous high-water rescues, including some from the rooftops of flooded homes. Officials redoubled urgent instructions for residents in low-lying areas to evacuate, warning the worst was still to come.

Most weekends Flores' father, Miguel Flores Sr., is mowing his huge backyard on a 2.5-acre (1-hectare) lot behind his home in Kingwood. But on Saturday, he and his family loaded several vehicles with clothes, small appliances and other items.

Water from the San Jacinto River already had swallowed his backyard and was continuing to rise, from about 1 foot (30 centimeters) high in the yard Friday to about 4 feet (1.2 meters) the following day.

“It’s sad, but what can I do,” Flores said, noting that he has flood insurance.

For weeks, drenching rains in Texas and parts of Louisiana have filled reservoirs and saturated the ground. Floodwaters partially submerged cars and roads this week across parts of southeastern Texas, north of Houston, reaching the roofs of some homes.

More than 21 inches (53 centimeters) fell over a five-day period through Friday in Liberty County near the city of Splendora, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) northeast of Houston, according to the National Weather Service.

Scores of rescues took place in neighboring Montgomery County. In Polk County, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) northeast of Houston, officials said there had been more than 100 water rescues in the previous few days.

Houston is one of the most flood-prone metro areas in the country. The city of more than 2 million people has long experience dealing with devastating weather.

Hurricane Harvey in 2017 dumped historic rainfall that flooded thousands of homes and resulted in more than 60,000 rescues by government rescue personnel across Harris County.

Of particular concern was an area along the San Jacinto River, which was expected to continue rising as more rain falls and officials release water from a full reservoir. Hidalgo issued a mandatory evacuation order on Thursday for people living along portions of the river.

The weather service reported the river was at nearly 74 feet (22.6 meters) late Saturday morning after reaching nearly 78 feet (23.7 meters). The rapidly changing forecast said the river was expected to fall to near flood stage of 58 feet (17.6 meters) by Thursday.

Most of Houston’s city limits were not heavily impacted by the weather. Officials said the area received about four months' worth of rain in about a week’s time.

The greater Houston area covers about 10,000 square miles (25,900 square kilometers), a footprint slightly bigger than New Jersey. It is crisscrossed by about 1,700 miles (2,700 kilometers) of channels, creeks and bayous draining into the Gulf of Mexico, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southeast of downtown.

The system of bayous and reservoirs was built to drain heavy rains, but the engineering initially designed nearly 100 years ago has struggled to keep up with the city’s growth and bigger storms.

Husband and wife Aron Brown, 45, and Jamie Brown, 41, were two of the many residents who drove or walked to watch the rising waters near a flooded intersection close to the San Jacinto River. Nearby restaurants and a gas station were beginning to flood.

Water could be seen flowing into parts of the couple’s subdivision, but Aron Brown said he wasn’t worried because their home is at a higher elevation than others in the neighborhood.

Brown, who drove from his home in a golf cart, said the flooding wasn’t as bad as Hurricane Harvey in 2017. He pointed to nearby power lines and said flooding during Harvey reached the top of the lines.

The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

Associated Press reporters Ken Miller in Edmond, Oklahoma, Jim Vertuno in Austin, and Valerie Gonzalez in McAllen, Texas, contributed to this report.

Follow Juan A. Lozano on X, formerly Twitter: https://twitter.com/juanlozano70

Channelview Fire Department and sheriffs get ready to help evacuate the area due to severe flooding, Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Channelview, Texas. (Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo describes seeing power lines relative to floodwater before going up in a helicopter at David Wayne Hooks Memorial Airport to survey flood damage around the northern section of greater Houston, Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Spring, Texas. (Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo speaks before going up in a helicopter at David Wayne Hooks Memorial Airport to survey flood damage around the northern section of greater Houston, Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Spring, Texas. (Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Channelview Fire Department and sheriffs get ready to help evacuate the area due to severe flooding, Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Channelview, Texas. (Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle via AP)

People gather to walk around bridge over Lake Houston along West Lake Houston Parkway after it was closed due to high water on either side of the thoroughfare, Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Kingwood, Texas (Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Girls ride their bikes through flood water near the bridge over Lake Houston along West Lake Houston Parkway after it was closed due to high water on either side of the thoroughfare, Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Kingwood, Texas. (Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Channelview Fire Department and sheriffs get ready to help evacuate the area due to severe flooding, Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Channelview, Texas. (Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle via AP)

A woman steps out of a mobile home in an unincorporated area in east Harris County near Houston on Saturday afternoon, May 4, 2024. The mobile home was surrounded by flood waters caused by the nearby San Jacinto River, which was overflowing due to heavy rainfall earlier this week. (AP Photo/Juan Lozano)

A stranded care is seen near the bridge over Lake Houston along West Lake Houston Parkway after it was closed due to high water on either side of the thoroughfare, Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Kingwood, Texas. (Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via AP)

A man waves at Texas Parks & Wildlife Department game wardens as they arrive by boat to rescue residents from floodwaters in Liberty County, Texas, on Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Lekan Oyekanmi)

A woman, who only gave her name as Lisamarie, checks on two of her puppies after her neighborhood was evacuated due to severe flooding on Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Channelview, Texas. (Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle via AP)

A woman, who only gave her name as Lisamarie, checks on an elderly resident inside his RV after their neighborhood was evacuated due to severe flooding, Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Channelview, Texas. (Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle via AP)

The bridge over Lake Houston along West Lake Houston Parkway from Kingwood to Atascocita is seen after it was closed due to high water on either side of the thoroughfare, Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Kingwood, Texas. (Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Texas Parks & Wildlife Department game wardens use a boat to rescue residents from floodwaters in Liberty County, Texas, on Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Lekan Oyekanmi)

A man walks through floodwaters on River Oaks Drive, Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Woodloch, Texas. (Karen Warren/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Texas Parks & Wildlife Department game wardens use a boat to rescue residents from floodwaters in Liberty County, Texas, on Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Lekan Oyekanmi)