How things can change.
“Has Leverkusen gambled away with Alonso,” asked BILD after the Werkself’s 2-0 defeat at RB Leipzig in the first half of the season.
The effect of the change of coach from Gerardo Seoane (44) to Xabi Alonso (41) seemed to fizzle out quickly. After Alonso’s 4-0 dream start against harmless Schalke, there were two bankruptcies and a draw in the Bundesliga. There was also a defeat and a draw in the Champions League. Bayer Leverkusen threatened the relegation battle.
And now? Bayer 04 is the last German representative in Europe. In the semi-finals of the Europa League, Leverkusen have to face AS Roma.
But on Sunday (5.30 p.m. / DAZN) it’s almost about the last chance for Leverkusen to qualify for the Champions League. RB Leipzig has a seven-point lead in fourth and has never lost at the BayArena.
Both competitions are “extremely important” for Bayer
For Leverkusen, who have been unbeaten in twelve competitive games, there is no tactics between the competitions. Sports boss Simon Rolfes (41) emphasizes: “We don’t rely on one person. Absolutely no way. The Bundesliga is still extremely important.”
Coach Alonso also emphasizes this: “The Bundesliga has exactly the same priority for us as them Europa League. So far we have been competitive in both competitions. We want to go full throttle in the league and in Europe!”
And Bayer has to do that against Leipzig too – the victories of European rivals Mainz (3-1 against Bayern) and Wolfsburg (5-1 in Bochum) put pressure on them.
Pyro-euphoria for Leverkusen Thousands of fans receive team bus
Leipzig is Bayer’s fifth game in 15 days. Will the burden be a disadvantage in the fight for international places?
“If you have a clear head, it doesn’t matter. We have to play with all our energy on Sunday and need a top performance,” said Alonso, who gave his players a day off training after returning from 4-1 at Union Saint-Gilloise on Friday.