Bundesliga
Alonso frustration after losing Bayer’s victory
Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso before the game. photo
© Federico Gambarini/dpa
Everything seemed to be going well for Bayer Leverkusen. Bayer led 2-0 against harmless Gladbachers. Then Leverkusen gave away two goals and the win. And is now under pressure on the last day of the game.
Mitchel Bakker’s back pass to Lukas Hradecky was almost half an own goal, but Nadiem Amiri’s absurd ball right into the feet of Marcus Thuram, who was two meters in front of the goal, topped the whole thing again. After the two slapstick goals conceded against Borussia Mönchengladbach, Bayer Leverkusen were perplexed and shaking their heads.
Because the wasted victory in the 2: 2 (2: 0) against the previously almost apathetic Gladbachers, who would probably never have found their way back into the game, could in the worst case result in this year’s semi-finalist in the Europa League next year international is only a spectator.
Alonso: “It’s not football”
“The draw was deserved because we don’t earn more,” said coach Xabi Alonso, who was rarely seen so frustrated during his time at Leverkusen. “Perhaps our biggest mistake was that we relaxed a bit and thought the game was won. But isn’t that football. It’s not Bundesliga.”
For sports director Simon Rolfes, too, the exhausting 0-0 draw in the second leg of the Europa League three days earlier against AS Roma was by no means an excuse for what happened on Sunday evening. “In the end we didn’t play seriously enough. And seriousness has nothing to do with strength,” he said: “Especially when you’re tired, you have to play more seriously. Let the ball run, just play. And don’t try to In the 89th minute, three yards out on your own sixteen.”
The absence of Kerem Demirbay with a fifth yellow card and Piero Hincapié with a red card for a frightening foul in the fifth minute of added time in Bochum made sense. Bayer still has the participation in the 23/24 European Cup in their own hands. But it will be a rocky road for the Bochumers, who are threatened with relegation. “They are playing for their lives, but we will do the same,” Alonso promised: “It’s the last game. We can win a lot. It’s a final and we’ll be ready.”
Leverkusen needs a win
It is relatively clear to everyone at Bayer that a win will now be necessary. “You have to assume that Wolfsburg will win against Hertha at home,” said Rolfes about the competitor’s task against the already relegated team: “So we have to win too. Very simple.”
Leverkusen are currently one point ahead. If they defend sixth place, they would start in the Europa League if they won the Leipzig Cup. Should Frankfurt win the cup, Bayer would have to go to the Conference League. If they slip down to seventh place and Frankfurt win, Leverkusen would not be there internationally next year. And the still fresh memories of the festive season in this year’s Europa League competition would suddenly seem very far away.