Undefeated streak continues against Qarabağ
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Xabi Alonso was self-critical after the last-minute draw against Qarabağ Ağdam – he just didn’t want to elaborate. “We didn’t have good control in the first half today and didn’t get into the final third well,” said the Bayer Leverkusen coach after the 2-2 (0-2) draw in the first leg of the Europa League round of 16 against an opponent, whose squad value is just under 15 million euros: “That was my mistake. I know why this happened. And we’re trying to improve that for the future.” The Spaniard fended off the idea of asking what exactly his mistake was with a charming smile: “No, no, that stays between us.”
At first glance, it was too much rotation in his team, which has a squad value of 567 million euros, with eight changes compared to the 2-0 win at 1. FC Köln. But above all the decision to leave the two drivers Granit Xhaka and Florian Wirtz on the bench at the same time. When both came in the 58th minute when the score was 0-2, the game turned around. Wirtz scored the next goal with the Bundesliga leaders’ 100th competitive goal this season (70th).
Longest undefeated streak since 2000: Leverkusen in 10th place
“I don’t know whether that was a mistake,” said Alonso: “Based on the result, you can of course say it was. But we play in three competitions, so we can’t always play with the same team.” Alonso’s self-criticism is surprising because he has often chosen risky formations when balancing in the three competitions this season – and has always been right so far .
But despite Leverkusen’s worst half of the season, the unbeaten streak held, but that wasn’t what the coach was interested in: “I’m not obsessed with it. It can happen at some point. But if it happens, I won’t be worried.” But with 0-2 at halftime, there was more at stake. “It wasn’t an easy moment,” admitted the former world and European champion: “It wasn’t a Bundesliga game, but a knockout game. We had to be careful that we didn’t get 0-3 or a fourth and thus lose the whole round of the game.” On the way to the first championship, VfL Wolfsburg is waiting on Sunday – Hans Sarpei (47), who played for Bayer and the Wolves, bet on a home win for the table leader in the TM betting round. Submit your tips now!
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