Instead of excelling offensively, Leverkusen impressed with defensive discipline and cleverness in the tough test against Bayern Munich. There's nothing to be ashamed of, says one of the visitors' main protagonists.
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- Bayer Leverkusen snatched a 1-1 draw from the previously flawless FC Bayern on matchday 5 of the Bundesliga and remain hot on the heels of the league leaders.
- The Munich side had the playful advantage on Saturday, but were unable to capitalize on it. "We can be happy and satisfied with the one point," summed up Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso.
- In the Allianz Arena, Xhaka and Co. prove that they are fully prepared. Asked about his timeout in stoppage time, the national team captain admitted to Blick: "We had to take some rhythm out of the game."
In the previous double season, Bayer Leverkusen impressed with their superb attacking football. However, the fact that the 1-1 draw in Munich was achieved with defensive discipline and at the expense of attacking brilliance does not diminish the Werkself's joy. "We can be happy and satisfied with the one point," summed up coach Xabi Alonso after Saturday evening's draw at Bayern in the Bundesliga's top match.
The visitors sensed that this was the only way they could get something from the league leaders, who have been so strong so far. "Based on last season, everyone wants us to go everywhere, unpack the tiki-taka and play brutally against every opponent. It would be nice if that were the case," admits Robert Andrich.
Points more important than a good game
"But I believe that many games go differently," added the German international and scorer of the 1-0 goal. "It's not always about playing beautifully, but about picking up important points by playing well defensively. And that was the kind of game today."
Teammate Jonathan Tah, who largely kept the Munich strikers around Harry Kane under control with his defensive colleagues and only allowed Aleksandar Pavlovic to score a long-range counter-goal, agrees with Andrich. When asked by a reporter whether this was a lucky point for Leverkusen, he replied: "Why lucky?" After all, apart from a great double chance from Serge Gnabry, Bayer had hardly allowed Munich any opportunities.
Sly Xhaka
Granit Xhaka, who had issued a warning to his team-mates a week ago despite the 4:3 victory, also liked the champions' performance in the Allianz Arena. Defensively, it was a "very good" performance. "The aim was to concede very little," said the national team captain. You can do a bit more with the ball, but we're happy to take the 1:1".
Sometimes you just need a bit of cleverness. Like in stoppage time, when Xhaka remained on the ground with apparent seizures. "We had to take some rhythm out of the game. I told Rob Andrich that one of us had to get on the floor," Xhaka admitted to Blick when asked about the Leverkusen timeout. "He said he already had a yellow card, so I took over."
It was about taking the rhythm out of the opponent. "That's part of football," grinned the national team captain. And while Bayern are pretty much against the grain, Leverkusen goalie Lukas Hradecky simply says: "Granit is a sly one."
