Bayer Leverkusen recently celebrated nine competitive game wins and once again showed the inspiring football of the double season. A difficult test now follows with Mainz.
It was two months ago when we looked at each other Bayer Leverkusen after a 1-1 draw against VfL Bochum. Where has it gone, the self-understanding of the double winner? Coach Xabi Alonso’s team gave the answer on the pitch. Before the top game on Tuesday against the surprise team from Mainz, Bayer once again showed impressive consistency with nine competitive game wins in a row – and is once again becoming Bayern’s first competitor.
Dominant – even without Wirtz
Alonso is currently in a good mood: his team recently impressed at almost every level in Dortmund – even though Bayer’s superstar Florian Wirtz was only on the bench. However, it was not performance reasons that spoke against the starting eleven, but traffic. Wirtz had simply been stuck in a traffic jam for too long to get to the meeting point on time. “It wasn’t a problem. He will be back in the starting line-up against Mainz,” confirmed Alonso at the press conference.
But the Bayer machinery is running at full speed even without Wirtz. Bayer has regained its dominance from the championship season since the end of November. The best example: In the Champions League against the previously unbeaten Inter Milan, Leverkusen was clearly superior on the field and – as so often in the championship season – scored the decisive goal shortly before the end.
Counterattack strength is back
What was noticeable against Dortmund: The counterattack strength is also back. As in the best of times, Alonso’s team quickly switches to attack. While the pressing was still decisive in the 1-0 win, the second and third goals were similar in structure: from their own penalty area, the fast wing players went forward through a few stations and the cross followed.
However, the cross play only works if someone in the penalty area receives these crosses – but Bayer has someone there who is currently one of the strongest strikers in the league: Patrik Schick. The Czech, who repeatedly struggled with setbacks and injuries for two seasons, is currently playing at the level of his 2021/22 season. At that time he scored 24 goals in 27 league games.
Schick excels in attack
After 13 appearances, he now has eleven goals. Incidentally, all of them were achieved in the last nine games that Bayer were able to win. Captain Jonathan Tah praised his teammate after the BVB game: “He is so cold in front of the goal and gives the team a lot in the game.” Before the Mainz game, Alonso even stated that it was the “best chic he has seen so far”.
Tah’s request to Schick that he should carry on like this, he would definitely be happy to comply with. Not the only positive sign for the future: the recovered Victor Boniface, the Werkself’s other top striker, may return next week. Since the defense has also improved significantly compared to the start of the season, one can rightly ask: Can Leverkusen win the championship trophy again?
Important month for Bayer
The team still has a long way to go until then: At the end of the first half of the season, the next stumbling block is 1. FSV Mainz 05, who have had a fabulous season so far and are in unfamiliar territory in fifth place. Alonso doesn’t want to underestimate the opponent: “If we don’t play 100 percent, we’ll have problems. They concede the second fewest goals and have a good organization. We have to be intelligent.”
A closely scheduled month follows with games in the league, Champions League and DFB Cup – before the eagerly awaited duel against Bayern Munich in Leverkusen in mid-February. By then at the latest, the question of possible title defense should be answered under the Bayer Cross.
Our sources:
- WDR sports editorial team
- Bayer Leverkusen press conference
- Quote from Jonathan Tah after the game against Dortmund at the sports show
