Title candidate Bayer Leverkusen: No announcement before April

Even after the win against the strangely staid VfL Wolfsburg, everyone involved at Bayer 04 Leverkusen is trying to suppress their euphoria about the increasingly likely championship title.

There was relief in the catacombs of the Leverkusen Arena. The currently injured attacker Victor Boniface and the suspended Jeremie Frimpong had visibly and audibly fun together immediately after the final whistle and the somewhat laborious 2-0 (1-0) win on Sunday evening (10.23.2024) against VfL Wolfsburg. The next victory was bagged. The mood is good, the future under the Bayer Cross looks promising.

Goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky, who wore an almost unused jersey after the 90 minutes, also had a broad smile on his face. “A week done again,” said the 34-year-old. The Finn’s message: Successfully survived the next game, even after the 25th matchday Football Bundesliga Bayer 04 Leverkusen is still ten points ahead of FC Bayern. Nathan Tella (37′) with a header and Florian Wirtz (86′) with a fantastic direct shot scored for the Werkself.

The season is slowly coming to an end. The conditions for the Werkself to win the first championship title in the club’s history have never been better. Six wins from the remaining nine games would be enough for a really big coup.

It’s about looseness and self-consciousness

However, there is still no sense of euphoria among everyone involved in Leverkusen. “In April,” Bayer 04 coach Xabi Alonso said rather jokingly when asked when he would publicly address the subject of the championship.

Despite the special sporting situation, the Leverkusen team are very careful to get back to normal – and not lose their footing due to excitement and nervousness. It’s about the necessary relaxedness, the necessary self-confidence. Just don’t overdo it.

Xhaka has a traumatic experience

There are internal warnings at every nook and cranny. For example, midfielder Granit Xhaka, who is a burnt child when it comes to playful championships. The Swiss was on the verge of winning the title with Arsenal London last year with a similar lead to Leverkusen – but still missed out on the title. A traumatic experience that has stayed with me.

“It’s honestly difficult to put into words. The feeling when you’re at the top for so long and then you don’t win the title like last year at Arsenal. I really hope that doesn’t happen again,” said Xhaka. After all: the Werkself fulfilled their duty optimally against the almost submissive Wolfsburg team of coach Nico Kovac.

Wolfsburg with self-sacrifice

The Lower Saxony team gave up on themselves early on and – after defender Moritz Jens’ yellow-red card (28th) – apparently didn’t want to score anymore (Kovac: “The game was over after the red card.”). They were simply trying to keep the defeat within tolerable limits. In its offensive lethargy, VfL hardly ever got the ball over the halfway line, let alone the team even managed to get close to the goal worth mentioning.

The Leverkusen team had difficulty finding a gap in the compact defense, but they never had to fear a counterattack or an unfortunate goal.

English weeks

The Werkself don’t have much time to enjoy this new victory. The English weeks leave little opportunity to breathe deeply. The second leg of the round of 16 against Qarabag Agdam in the Europa League kicks off in Leverkusen on Thursday evening (9 p.m.) (first leg 2-2).

On Sunday (3:30 p.m.) SC Freiburg, who also have to compete in international competition against West Ham United in London on Thursday, will take the next step in the title fight.

But Lerverkusen’s approach will not change. Priorities are not set (at least publicly). “We know that the next game is always the most important,” said Alonso – who probably means exactly what he says.