Xabi Alonso Admired His Team Performance To Grab A Point Away At Bayern

Bayer Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso expressed his pride and admiration for his players following their resilient performance in Saturday’s 1-1 Bundesliga match against table-topping Bayern Munich. 

Alonso commended his team for their stalwart defensive efforts that minimized Bayern’s attacking threats, conceding only to an exceptional goal that almost seemed unstoppable. 

The coach’s satisfaction stemmed from the team’s unwavering discipline and unwavering commitment throughout the challenging encounter.

Bayern had 18 shots to Leverkusen’s three

Aleksandar Pavlovic of Bayern tied the score with a spectacular half-volley from 25 meters out that beat goalie Lukas Hradecky to move the visitors to third in the standings after Robert Andrich gave Leverkusen the lead. 

Even though Leverkusen had three shots compared to Bayern’s eight, the home club nevertheless managed to secure a point, and Alonso’s squad’s winning streak against the German powerhouses now stands at four games.

Alonso said “The energy and belief at Bayern is different than last season, they are going full throttle with and against the ball. That was very tough today. We can be happy with the point,” 

“I needed more energy from the team, I’m happy with that. We were ready to suffer and we did that. We need the discipline and passion of the players. It wasn’t easy, we didn’t have control of the ball. It was a challenge to defend. The point is important… The whole team did very well. We hardly had a chance to breathe but I’m very proud of my players.” He added.

“We are self-critical”

Granit Xhaka, a midfielder for Leverkusen who set up the first goal, stated that their primary tactic was to stay compact and prevent Bayern from having any scoring opportunities. 

He said “We are self-critical. If you score three goals every game, that’s not enough. If we play well today and switch gears, we can do something,”

He added “Defensively, we put in a good performance. The goal today was to be compact and concede little. You can certainly do more with the ball and everyone knows that we can do more. If someone had told us before the game that we would get a point, we would have taken it.”

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