In the DFB Cup, Bayer Leverkusen should jump out the fourth title in the term of office of Xabi Alonso. Instead, the “Werkelf” suffered an unusual crash landing against third division club Arminia Bielefeld.
After the final whistle on the Bielefeld Alm, Xabi Alonso tried to formulate a factual analysis without criticizing his team too much. “We didn’t do it well, had no control as a team and individual. It didn’t work today. It was an important night for us to get back to the final, but we didn’t show our full level,” said the 43-year-old Bask.
Of course, one has to expect more from highly praised players such as Granit Xhaka, Patrik Schick and Alejandro Grimaldo than the performance shown against the fourth of the 3rd division. There have always been big sensations in the DFB Cup over the years. However, these mostly passed when a favorite did not take advantage of its chances and was countered by the outsider. Or scored goals. On Tuesday evening, Leverkusen was simply not the better team, despite the significant difference in quality on paper.
But it almost seemed as if the “Werkelf” had not taken over the full control over the game on purpose. Instead of the often practiced short-pass building game, led by defense chief Jonathan Tah, Leverkusen played comparatively many long balls over the first pressing line from Bielefeld. We have already seen such an approach from Alonso’s team this season, but this happened against Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga round round or Liverpool in the Champions League preliminary round. Against the best in Europe, not against Bielefeld, with all respect for U20 international Marius Wörl and his colleagues.
To illustrate: Over the 90 minutes, Leverkusen played only 22 passes more than Bielefeld. The possession of the ball was almost 50:50, even the pass rate was almost identical at 64 to 63 percent. Leverkusen was stronger in the air and was able to use the physical presence a bit with long balls. But: Due to the use of many high allusions, the qualitative difference between the two teams was deliberately or unconsciously reduced to a minimum size. Bundesliga teams, especially those who play around the championship, are superior to the ground and in terms of pace third-division teams. So the matter for Bielefeld became the kind of struggle for rebounds that are known from everyday league life.
An explanatory approach could be that Leverkusen avoid early ball losses at all costs and therefore Bielefeld did not want to allow switching attacks. At the same time, the lawn in the Schücoarena was not necessarily made for a quick short pass game. Alonso has adapted the tactical processes and priority in the ball possession for a game a few times this season – and has often had success. It is not without reason that he is on the note of many top European clubs. But through these adjustments, he can occasionally cope or weaken his team a bit.
The whole truth also includes that Leverkusen is significantly weakened without Florian Wirtz, which is currently due to an inner ligament injury. As much as the double season’s double win was a team success, Wirtz is the decisive player, especially in the transition from the first phase of the game structure in the opposing half. It moves between the lines, wins duels again and again and dictates the attack rhythm of the entire team a bit. Without Wirtz and an adequate replacement, Alonso has had to improvise for weeks. Grimaldo, for example, is supposed to move in from the left and mimic the landlord a little.
But that is not enough as an excuse. In parallel to the game in Bielefeld, France’s master Paris Saint-Germain played away in the cup with the second division club Dunkerque. After half an hour, the team from the capital was 0: 2 behind, but ultimately won two with 4: 2 due to a dominant performance. So it should actually run in the cup.