Leverkusen beats Milan in the Champions League: Alonso invokes the mentality

On the pitch and in the stands – everywhere in the Leverkusen ranks there was relief when the referee ended the game. However, game director Sandro Schärer from Switzerland was now exposed to a storm of protest from the Milanese. The players harassed him with objections, and coach Paulo Fonseca also rushed over and argued with gestures. The AC Milan representatives insisted on an extension of the extra time, and although their vehement opposition seemed a little exaggerated, it was still understandable in the matter. Another minute might have been enough for Milan to make up the 1-0 deficit against Bayer 04. Defense chief Jonathan Tah and goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky had just worked together to prevent a dangerous advance by Dutch international Tijjani Reijnders.

Bayer coach Xabi Alonso later summed up the last half hour of this game with a single word: “Survive” was the word. Plus exclamation mark. The Milan crowd was massive, the good Hradecky had to intervene again and again at the last resort, once the ball hit the crossbar and the Spanish European champion Alvaro Morata failed to take the rebound and missed the almost open goal.

The Leverkusen team in catenaccio mode – is that suddenly the new motto? After the deliberate blocking of the top game in Munich, style critics had already complained that a stonewalling champion was not befitting their status and that Alonso’s Bayer was a champion who was betraying themselves. So was the next display of self-sufficient results football now coming against Milan? Not at all. And yet, compared to last year’s edition, a different Bayer 04 presented itself, an eleven that played “maturely” and “seriously”, as the extremely good-humored, almost tipsy-looking – but definitely sober – Alonso emphasized.

The Basque coach liked how his team presented itself in the new world called the Champions League. After the 4-0 win in Rotterdam, now a 1-0 win against European Cup giants Milan, that’s not just six points – that’s progress across the board. “We had the Champions League mentality in both games,” said Alonso.

Bayer starts attacking and switches to defense mode after taking the lead

The 30,000 visitors to the Bayarena, not to mention the numerous Tifosi who arrived in buses from Lombardy, also enjoyed a lively evening. Bayer immediately started attacking and only stopped attacking the Milan goal when Schär called for half-time. To put it politely, Milan behaved in a wait-and-see manner. One could also consider Fonseca’s team to be listless, but in Alonso’s opinion that would have been a mistake. Although there was only one Italian among the 13 Rossoneri deployed and their trainer Fonseca came from Mozambique or Portugal, the Bayer coach later gave the opponent the seal of approval of his origin. “You always have to play intelligently against an Italian team,” he said: “Always be alert!” Always be vigilant.

And that was true: for an hour, Milan limited themselves to preventing the dominant home team from conceding a goal and waiting for the unique counterattack moment. Then – finally, it seemed – Victor Boniface scored 1-0 following a masterful combination via Aleix Garcia, Grimaldo and Jeremie Frimpong, and the game turned almost abruptly. Now the Bayer cover had to hold up. Xabi Alonso did not hold it against them that his people allowed themselves to be pushed back on the one hand and, on the other hand, also retreated themselves. He recalled his own experiences with the competition: the confirmation of being able to defend a result against such an opponent, “that’s what we need to stay in the Champions League for a long time.”

However, the suffering could have ended earlier if right winger Frimpong had been a little more accurate – this is also a question of growing up. And when it comes to the necessary European Cup readiness, attention also turns to the only goalscorer, Victor Boniface, with his penchant for solo running and gamble football, which occasionally makes him ignore free-standing teammates. But the center forward was immediately given a license to be a fool by the highest authorities. “That’s what Boni is – that’s why he’s popular in the team,” said midfield boss Granit Xhaka, an advocate of discipline and efficiency, who consequently warned that one should “not forget how much Boni works for the team”. And the coach also expressed his thanks and recognition to the Nigerian attacker, who has so far clearly prevailed in the team’s internal duel with Patrik Schick: “We know him, we understand him, we support him – and in the end he did his job well. “It really couldn’t be overlooked: Xabi Alonso thoroughly enjoyed this European evening.