Xabi Alonso’s second full Bundesliga season has not quite gone as he might have hoped.
Bayer Leverkusen has a 6-5-1 record and the man coveted by Bayern Munich and Real Madrid alike is staring up from third place in the table, three points behind Dino Toppmöller’s Eintracht Frankfurt — and seven behind Bayern, once again runaway league leaders.
The magic of last year’s invincible season, when Leverkusen always seemed to find a way, has gone, leading ESPN’s Derek Rae to coin a new term for the team’s fortunes: Luckypunchgegentorkusen.
But for one day at least, in the German cup, it was Alonso’s side once again on the delivering end of the late punch — and a familiar foe in Bayern the unlucky recipients.
Alonso has still never lost to Bayern, and he’s won more than he has drawn — boasting now a 3-2 record over the German Rekordmeister that stands a testament to his achievements as a coach. But there is something different about both Leverkusen and Bayern this season, and the Spaniard clearly has immense respect for what his counterpart Vincent Kompany has managed to do.
“It’s a great achievement for us to come here and beat this Bayern…I’ve seen all the games of Bayern this year. And home and away, they are destroying the opponents,” Alonso said after the match in an interview with sideline reporter Archie Rhind-Tutt, with emphasis on destroying. “It’s very difficult to beat them.”
Rhind-Tutt shared the clip on social media platform Bluesky, and it is worth watching in full.
Perhaps realizing he had spoken too frankly — and indelicately towards Bayern’s vanquished foes — Xabi backtracked…a little.
“Not destroying, but they are being much better than their opponent,” he corrected. “It’s going to be difficult to play super special against them. You need to be effective, and today we were effective.”
Effective is one way to put it. Die Werkself has evolved in this iteration into something more pragmatic than stylish, especially with the injury issues mounting. Alonso opted not to start the match with a striker, with Victor Boniface injured, and when he brought one on in the second half, Patrick Schick lasted just 12 minutes before succumbing to injury. Even with a man advantage for most of the match, Leverkusen looked tired, battered, and pushed around by a determined Bayern side — one that is in far better position to win this year’s Bundesliga title.
But one incredible moment — Alejandro Grimaldo finding Nathan Tella with a sumptuously well-placed cross — was all it took. In one competition, at least, Leverkusen’s hunt for repeat silverware remains alive and well.
Looking for more thoughts and analysis on Bayern Munich’s shocking 1-0 loss to Bayer Leverkusen in the DFB-Pokal? Then you came to the right place. Check out the Bavarian Podcast Works — Postgame Show on Patreon, Spotify or below:
