Europe League
Leverkusen and the next step towards the triple
Coach Xabi Alonso can win the treble with Leverkusen. photo
© Christoph Reichwein/dpa
After the party is before London: Leverkusen wants to move into the semi-finals of the Europa League after the big championship win against West Ham. The starting position is good. However, one leader warns.
Leverkusen are favorites in the quarter-final second leg of the Europa League at West Ham United (Thursday 9 p.m./RTL). The supposedly safe first leg result of 2-0 in combination with a possible feeling of invincibility is a previously unknown risk factor for Bayer 04 and Alonso.
“2-0 is a very dangerous result,” warned leader Granit Xhaka after the first duel. The Swiss record national player is certain about the opponent: “With 60,000 or 70,000 behind them: It will be a different team on Thursday.” Teammate Jonas Hofmann, who scored 1-0 as a joker in the first meeting and prepared the second goal, agrees with Xhaka: “I think it will be a completely different game.”
Xhaka knows the opponent well
SC Freiburg experienced what they both mean in the round of 16. After a 1-0 win at home, the Breisgauers were dispatched 5-0 by West Ham in the second leg. This Europa League season, the English have won every game in front of their home crowd.
They will not be able to afford such a staid performance as in Leverkusen, when the weakened Londoners concentrated mainly on defending in front of their own fans in the magnificent London Stadium. “I speak from experience. I played against West Ham for seven years. I know how difficult it is to play there,” said Xhaka, referring to his time at Arsenal.
Alonso will also warn his team. Above all, he will meticulously adapt them tactically to the opponent. The 42-year-old had already announced at the exuberant championship party with the fans on Sunday in the BayArena: “We also want the cup and the Europa League!” On Tuesday the team trained as champions for the first time, and on Wednesday there was another session at home and a trip to London on the agenda.
Leverkusen can set a record
Managing director Fernando Carro is not worried that the happy title frenzy could have a negative impact on the attack on the treble of the championship, Europa League and DFB Cup. “I think the team and the coaching staff have shown that they are greedy. That they want to keep winning, that they won’t stop,” he said on ARD.
If Leverkusen doesn’t stop against West Ham and remains undefeated in the 44th competitive game in a row, Bayer 04 would set a record for the five largest European leagues. No team from the upper house of football in England, Spain, Italy, Germany and France has managed to remain unbeaten for so long this millennium. The current record is held by Bayer 04 and Juventus Turin with 43 games without defeat. Of course, progress is more important for Alonso’s team. In the semi-finals the opponent would be AS Roma or AC Milan.