Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso remains optimistic about his team’s chances in the Bundesliga title race despite a goalless draw against Bayern Munich on Saturday. The result leaves Leverkusen trailing Bayern by eight points with 12 matches left in the season.
The highly anticipated clash saw Leverkusen dominate possession and create several chances, but they were unable to find the back of the net. Bayern, on the other hand, played defensively, knowing a draw would be enough to maintain their advantage at the top of the table. Surprisingly, Bayern failed to register a single shot on target throughout the game, marking only the second time since 1992 that this has happened in a league match.
After the match, Alonso acknowledged his team’s strong performance but admitted that their lack of precision in front of goal cost them the win.
“We played very well. We did everything we could do to win, other than score a goal,” Alonso told reporters.
The Spanish coach also noted how dominant his team was against a Bayern side known for controlling games.
“To be honest, and I’ve seen many Bayern games this season and they’re very dominant, we were dominant,” he said. “You can see from the stats today how dominant we were. We just missed some precision.”
Despite the setback, Alonso remains confident that Leverkusen can still challenge for the title.
“For the table, it wasn’t enough (to make a difference). But the season is not over yet,” he stated.
Alonso added that there is still plenty of time to close the gap, pointing out that the title race is far from decided.
“As I said last year (with Leverkusen on the way to the title), we can speak in April. There’s still many points to play for,” he said.
The Leverkusen coach also expressed his determination to continue competing across all competitions.
“Without a doubt, we’ll keep fighting in each competition and we want to keep winning.”
Despite missing the chance to reduce the gap with Bayern, Alonso believes the performance showed Leverkusen’s ability to compete with the best teams in Europe.
“It’s something we can build on in the league, but especially in the Champions League.”
Leverkusen is currently the only German team to have reached the top eight in the Champions League this season, which adds to their confidence moving forward.
Meanwhile, Bayern coach Vincent Kompany dismissed suggestions that his team was fortunate to escape with a draw.
“Leverkusen earned the right to put us under pressure, but we showed the mentality to block shots — guys like Harry (Kane) and Jamal (Musiala) who are normally scoring goals for us,” Kompany said.
With 12 matches still to play, the Bundesliga title race remains open, and Leverkusen will be eager to close the gap in the coming weeks.
