Defending champions Bayer Leverkusen host Bayern Munich on Saturday needing a “perfect day” to defeat the Bavarian giants and keep the Bundesliga title race alive. Bayern come to Leverkusen with an eight-point lead at the top of the table. Both sides have only lost once in the league this season but Leverkusen have been let down by their inability to win close games, with seven draws compared to Bayern’s three. Stung by failing to win a title last year, Vincent Kompany‘s Bayern are in ominous form, having won seven league games in a row.

A win, or even a draw on Saturday for Bayern, will deal a likely fatal blow to Leverkusen’s hopes of winning back-to-back titles.

However, Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso‘s record against Bayern will give the hosts hope.

Since taking over Leverkusen in October 2022, Alonso has won three and drawn two of five games against Bayern.

The most recent of those victories came in December, when Leverkusen eliminated Bayern from the German Cup in Munich after home captain Manuel Neuer saw red for the first time in his career.

In an interview with the Bundesliga website on Thursday, Leverkusen talisman Granit Xhaka backed his side.

“We can make it difficult for anyone, including Bayern Munich, we need a perfect day to beat this team, but I’m convinced we can do this,” he said.

“We won’t play for a draw, we want to win every game, whether that’s against Bayern on Saturday, or against any other team.

“Everything is still in our hands, we’ll keep going, keep believing, and try and win the next games.”

Unlike Bayern, who battled to a 2-1 victory at Celtic in the Champions League play-offs on Wednesday, Leverkusen could put their feet up in midweek, having finished in the top eight of the competition.

Both sides are benefiting from rich veins of form from their strikers.

Having struggled with a hamstring injury in December, Harry Kane has bounced back for Bayern and has nine goals in his past eight games in all competitions.

Leverkusen’s Patrik Schick is also among the goals. The Czech striker has 14 goals in his past 11 league outings.

Elsewhere, Borussia Dortmund can build on their midweek 3-0 Champions League win at Sporting Lisbon, their first win under new coach Niko Kovac, when they play at rock-bottom Bochum on Saturday.

Third-placed Eintracht Frankfurt, who have drawn their past three games, will also want to get their top-four bid back on track when they face Holstein Kiel.

One to watch: Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen)

Sitting behind Patrick Schick, Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Florian Wirtz has pulled the strings all season.

So far this season, nine of Schick’s 20 goals have been assisted by Wirtz.

Leverkusen CEO Fernando Carro, who oversaw Wirtz’s last contract extension with the club in 2022, told AFP in an interview on Thursday the 21-year-old “definitely makes it look easy — and that’s what makes him special.

“He has a view of the whole field. His technique, his first touch is amazing… Not that many are on his level.

Key stats

24 – St Pauli sit 14th but have conceded just 24 goals in 21 games. Only league leaders Bayern Munich have conceded fewer, with 19.

October 2021 – The date of Bayern’s last win in Leverkusen.

21 in 19 – Harry Kane has 21 goals in 19 league games this campaign, including nine penalties.

2024 is perhaps the first year of football in a long time where it’s hard to pick out one singular standout moment of the year. 2023 saw Manchester City lift the treble, 2022 was Lionel Messi‘s ascent to immortality, 2021 was Italy’s Euro triumph, and before that, we did not have to look past Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to find a standout. But in 2024 – for the first time in years – the standout thing was that there wasn’t a standout moment.

And perhaps the best way to signal the fact that there wasn’t a standout was the fact that neither Messi nor Ronaldo made it into the Top 30 of the Ballon d’Or nominees. The award they couldn’t stop winning at one point had finally moved on for good.

Football in 2024 saw surprises. Perhaps more than we’re used to. Bayern Munich no longer won the Bundesliga, dark horses Spain won the Euros, and a defensive midfielder won the Ballon d’Or. For good heavens, Ivory Coast won the Africa Cup of Nations after sacking their manager mid-tournament!

And what a ride that was. Ivory Coast barely scraped through to the knockouts in an AFCON on home soil. Their manager was sacked midway and the collapse couldn’t look more calamitous. Neither could the comeback look more glorious than it ended up being. ‘The Elephants’ beat everyone in the knockouts, including then-defending champions Senegal, to claim a historic AFCON in their own territory.

What about Bayer Leverkusen? Not only did they dethrone the seemingly undethronable, they went invincible. Zero losses in 34 Bundesliga games. Zero losses in the German Cup. And were it not for a freak Europa League final defeat, it’d be zero losses all season. Xabi Alonso at the wheel, Florian Wirtz in the hole, Leverkusen were the team of the year.

Let’s come to Spain. Before Euro 2024, England were heavyweights. People fancied Germany on home soil. France are always favourites. But one team beat them all. Spain. They didn’t boast the best team, but undeniably played the best football.

Rodri was a metronome. His hype took away the shine from midfield partner Fabian Ruiz who was arguably better. Nico Williams was a tear on the flanks, and his wing partner? Phew. Superlatives fall short when one tries to describe what Lamine Yamal is doing at 17.

It’s hard to live up to the words ‘The Next Messi’. But Lamine Yamal may very well just do it.

He finished 8th in the Ballon d’Or. At 17!

Perhaps the Ballon d’Or, and the fickle nature of individual awards, does not deserve the debate it gets. But it must certainly be discussed to celebrate the best individual players. The sweetest cream of the crop. And in 2024, there were three. Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Jr and Rodri.

Bellingham flew at Real Madrid, and was decisive whenever the occasion demanded it. El Clasico winner? Check. Champions League in your first season at Real Madrid? Check. Bicycle-kick 95th minute equaliser at the Euros? Check.

His teammate Vinicius was stratospheric. If footballers were superheroes, no one would be feared more than Vinicius in the current scenario. Without a shadow of doubt, the player in world football most capable of turning a game on its head with the click of a finger.

But the golden ball went to Rodri. In a game that typically needs you to have a goal tally to challenge for the big honours, Rodri was crowned for being the ticking heartbeat of Manchester City and Spain. Just look at how worse off his club is, now that he’s injured. Rodri was so good that a people needed to sit up and realize that a defensive midfielder may just be the most important player in the world.

Football in 2024 was uncertain. It was diverse. It had no singular standout. It saw Pep Guardiola lose eight out of 11 games. It saw Kylian Mbappe finally join Real Madrid. It was a call back to the pre-Messi and Ronaldo era. And it’s time we embrace it.

Bayern Munich were dumped out of the German Cup by holders Bayer Leverkusen as Nathan Tella’s second-half goal secured a 1-0 win for the Bundesliga champions on Tuesday, after Manuel Neuer saw the first red card of his 866-game career. The 38-year-old rushed out of the box in typical fashion 18 minutes in to the German Cup last-16 clash, taking out an advancing Jeremie Frimpong and seeing a straight red. Neuer’s sending-off brought Israel goalkeeper Daniel Peretz on for his Bayern debut, 18 months after joining the club.

Bayern, who were already without the injured Harry Kane, dug deep despite the one-man disadvantage and dominated the ball.

The visitors eventually broke through in the 69th minute, though, with Tella heading in an Alex Grimaldo cross.

Tella had only been on the field for eight minutes having come on for injured striker Patrik Schick, who himself was subbed on at half-time.

Home winger Michael Olise lashed inches wide in the fourth minute of stoppage time but Leverkusen held on to inflict a first domestic defeat on Vincent Kompany since he became Bayern coach.

“We were too hectic and tried to go forward too quickly,” Leverkusen captain Jonathan Tah told ARD. “At half-time, we said we need to be patient — and we did it.

“I didn’t know Nathan could be so good with his head.”

Neuer told reporters: “The red card decided the game. It hurt us and I’m sorry.”

Xabi Alonso‘s Leverkusen, who won an unbeaten league and cup double last season, are through to the last eight.

Bayern have won the German Cup a record 20 times — 14 more than the next best — but have not made it past the quarter-finals since 2020, when they defeated Leverkusen 4-2 in the final.

Elsewhere, a stoppage-time goal from Anthony Jung took Werder Bremen to the quarters with a 1-0 win over Darmstadt.

Stuttgart are also through after a 3-0 win at Regensburg, while Freiburg were knocked out by a 3-1 loss at Arminia Bielefeld.

Three-time winners Stuttgart were dominant against their second-division opponents, taking the lead just 10 minutes in thanks to a clever individual goal from Enzo Millot.

Japanese defender Anrie Chase headed in from a free-kick nine minutes later to double the visitors’ lead — his first goal for Stuttgart.

Nick Woltemade broke through and rounded the goalkeeper to score Stuttgart’s third.

Beaten finalists in 2022, Freiburg were heavy favourites to beat third-division Bielefeld and looked on course when Michael Gregoritsch won a penalty 15 minutes in, drawing a clumsy foul from Maximilian Grosser.

But Florent Muslija’s tame spot-kick was easily saved.

The hosts then took the lead thanks to an excellent long-range effort from Christopher Lannert on 28 minutes, before Gregoritsch gave away a penalty, which was nervelessly converted by Julian Kania nine minutes before the break.

Gregoritsch pulled one back just after the hour, but Louis Oppie put Bielefeld out of reach with a goal nine minutes from time.

On Wednesday, RB Leipzig — winners in 2022 and 2023 — host five-time winners Eintracht Frankfurt.

File image of Victor Boniface.© AFP

Xabi Alonso said his return to Anfield was bittersweet after Liverpool thrashed Bayer Leverkusen 4-0 on Tuesday, thanks to a Luis Diaz hat-trick, to go top of the Champions League table. Cody Gakpo was also on target as the Reds maintained their 100 percent record in Europe after four games. Alonso, a Champions League winner during his playing days in the Liverpool midfield, turned his back on succeeding Jurgen Klopp to remain at Leverkusen after leading them to an unbeaten German league and cup double last season.

The Spaniard’s name was chanted by the home support in the closing stages.

Liverpool, though, are not left wondering what might have been as Arne Slot continued his stunning start as manager with a 14th win in 16 games in all competitions.

“One thing is the game and the other thing was the reception,” said Alonso, who played for the Reds between 2004 and 2009.

“I have a bitter feeling but I really appreciate and (I’m) thankful that after so many years I come here and still have that bond with the club. But it would have been nicer with a better result.”

Leverkusen remain on seven points from their opening four Champions League matches after another sobering night for their ambitions to match the heights they hit last season.

Alonso’s men sit fourth in the Bundesliga, seven points adrift of leaders Bayern Munich, and failed to master what their coach described pre-match as a “beautiful challenge”.

Slot’s decision to move Diaz into a central role up front proved inspired as the Colombian struck his first hat-trick for the club.

Sleepless night

Just like in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Brighton that took Slot’s men to the top of the Premier League, it took until the second half for both Liverpool and the Anfield crowd to come to life.

“Second half we could adjust the gameplan, we took more risks and we were better with the ball as well,” said Slot.

“If you work or play at Liverpool you always feels pressure but we embrace this because we want to complete for everything. You have to accept if you work or play here you can enjoy these incredible evenings.”

A cagey tactical battle was sparked into life on the hour mark by a moment of stunning quality.

Curtis Jones spun his marker before splitting the Leverkusen defence with a pinpoint pass for Diaz, who nonchalantly chipped the advancing Lukas Hradecky.

Two minutes later, Liverpool killed the visitors off with another flowing move.

Mohamed Salah‘s driven cross was headed in at the back post by the flying Gakpo.

The linesman raised his flag to momentarily silence the celebrations, but a VAR review showed the Dutch forward was onside for his sixth goal of the season.

Victor Boniface headed wide with a huge chance to bring Leverkusen immediately back into the game.

Instead, Liverpool pulled further clear seven minutes from time when Diaz controlled Salah’s looping cross and fired home.

The Colombian then rounded off the scoring with his ninth goal of the season in stoppage time with another clinical finish after Darwin Nunez‘s blocked shot fell into his path.

Liverpool’s return of 12 points means they are almost certainly already assured of a place in the knockout phase, but are closing in on sealing direct progression to the last 16 via a top-eight finish in the 36-team league.

Leverkusen slip to 11th but Alonso is confident of progressing with three of their remaining four games to come at home.

“We are in a good position to fight to go through to the next round,” he added. “Today it will be tougher to sleep but we have time to see the positives as well.”

Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso said it was “too early” to write off his side’s title defence despite dropping more points in Saturday’s 2-2 draw at Werder Bremen. Leverkusen led twice but were pegged back on both occasions, including conceding their second in the 90th minute. Last season, Leverkusen dropped just 12 points on the way to an unbeaten Bundesliga title. However, Alonso’s side have already dropped nine this campaign. They sit five points behind league leaders RB Leipzig but despite the setbacks, Alonso said his side still had time. 

“Now in October, it’s too early,” Alonso said when asked about Leverkusen’s hopes of defending their title. 

“We want to be more consistent and when we get to that level, we will pick up more points.

“Anything can happen in the table… there’s too many matches to come.”

While Leverkusen continue to fire up front, they have been leaky at the back, conceding 15 goals in eight games compared to 24 in 34 games last season.

And the champions are yet to keep a clean sheet in the league this term.

“We want the feeling that we can control the game, that we don’t give away chances to the opponent,” Alonso said. 

“We didn’t do that well today.

“We gave Bremen the chances and made it too easy — it’s not good and I’m of course not satisfied.”

Leverkusen’s Granit Xhaka agreed it was “too early” to say the race was run, but was frustrated at his side’s failure to see out the match. 

“If you don’t kill the game, you concede — it’s very simple in football,” Xhaka told the Bundesliga website. 

“It should not be possible that we go in front twice and still don’t win the game. It’s not enough like this — we need to see the reality at the moment.”

Granit Xhaka reacts after Bayer Leverkusen’s draw.© AFP

Granit Xhaka praised his side’s “pure mentality” as Florian Wirtz’s goal in the 11th minute of stoppage time snatched a 3-2 win for reigning champions Bayer Leverkusen at Borussia Moenchengladbach in Friday’s Bundesliga opener. Leverkusen were cruising at half-time, after a Xhaka stunner and a Wirtz goal gave Xabi Alonso‘s side a two-goal lead. With rain teeming down at Gladbach’s Borussia Park, Nico Elvedi brought the hosts closer with a 59th-minute strike before newcomer Tim Kleindienst levelled the scores with five minutes remaining.

A second-half delay when home supporters set off flares in the stands meant a lengthy period of added time. In the 10th minute of that stoppage time, Ko Itakura clipped Amine Adli’s boot in the box, bringing Wirtz to the spot.

Wirtz’s effort was saved but the Germany midfielder hammered the ball in on the rebound as his side won late again.

Leverkusen built a reputation for saving matches with last-gasp goals during their incredible run last season and Friday’s strike was officially the latest goal in league history.

“We started well in the first half and were dominant. We said at half-time we don’t want to let them back into it,” Xhaka told DAZN.

“They came back but again we showed our pure mentality and we can take the three points back to Leverkusen from a difficult away match.”

Leverkusen coach Alonso was at a loss for words.

“I have no explanation for that. It’s football. It’s happened for us a lot.”

Wirtz, 21, said he was “glad” to be given the responsibility of the spot-kick, saying he “wanted to decide the game”.

“I know that at the end it was a bit lucky, but I don’t want to complain. We’re happy that we won at the end.

“We made it a bit hard for ourselves. There’s plenty of things we need to keep working on but we can be happy we got the three points today.”

Defending champions

Fresh off an unbeaten league and cup double last campaign, Leverkusen picked up another piece of silverware last Saturday by beating Stuttgart on penalties to lift the German Supercup.

Gladbach, a fallen giant who narrowly avoided relegation last season, were dealt a blow shortly before kick-off, with star midfielder Manu Kone left out of the squad due to an impending move away from the club.

Leverkusen midfielder Xhaka blew the lid off the game early, rocketing in a brilliant long-range effort after 13 minutes, giving Gladbach goalie Jonas Omlin no chance.

The effort was a mirror image of the Switzerland captain’s goal in Leverkusen’s 1-0 German Cup final win over Kaiserslautern in May.

Xhaka, who spent four years at Gladbach before his move to Arsenal, held his hands in the air, refusing to celebrate the stunner against his former club.

A bleach-blonde Wirtz doubled Leverkusen’s lead after 38 minutes, blasting in on the turn in a crowded penalty area.

Kleindienst looked to have pulled one back for the hosts just before half-time but the former Heidenheim forward’s effort was struck off on VAR review.

Gladbach’s Elvedi, who lost possession just before Xhaka’s opener, redeemed himself for the hosts, heading in a rebound to cut Leverkusen’s lead 14 minutes into the second-half.

Kleindienst then levelled things up late, pushing past some sloppy defending from Edmond Tapsoba to blast the ball into the net.

In the final minute of stoppage time, Adli went down in the box and a VAR review brought Wirtz to the spot.

Omlin kept the low shot out but Wirtz was first to the rebound, knocking it home to ensure his side started their title defence with three points.

Friday’s league opener, which features the defending champions, was the first without Bayern Munich since 2013.

File image of Xabi Alonso.© AFP

Bayer Leverkusen face second-division Kaiserslautern in Saturday’s German Cup final licking their wounds after a first loss in almost a year. Xabi Alonso‘s side were thoroughly outclassed in a 3-0 loss to Atalanta in the Europa League final on Wednesday, their first defeat in any competition since May 2023 — a run of 51 games. Energetic and dynamic this season with a taste for late goals, Leverkusen looked a shadow of the team which thundered past Bayern Munich to win their first ever Bundesliga title this season. 

In a year when Alonso pledged to stick around with the club despite reported interest from Liverpool and Bayern, Leverkusen looked on track for a remarkable three trophies.

Now they need to rebound to stop their underdog opponents, who flirted with relegation to the third division for much of the campaign, spoiling what has been an incredible season.

A loss will recall the club’s infamous ‘Neverkusen’ season in 2002, when they somehow emerged empty-handed despite being five points clear in the league with three games remaining, while also qualifying for the German Cup and Champions League finals.

Leverkusen’s unbeaten run, which broke a 59-year-old record set by Portuguese giants Benfica in 1965, was bound to end sometime but it was the manner in which the club capitulated which will concern Alonso the most. 

The Germans were outmuscled by a determined Atalanta, with the reliable Florian Wirtz and Granit Xhaka, so important this season, having off nights. 

Winger Jonas Hofmann summed up the club’s struggles on Wednesday night, lamenting “many mistakes, individual mistakes, bad passes and simple technical errors,” saying the performance was “not Bayer-like”.

“We weren’t confident in the build-up,” Hofmann said, explaining Leverkusen had given Atalanta the feeling “they could stand up to us and win the title”.

‘Transform pain’

For a side which has made a habit of scoring late goals — they have scored 15 times after the 90-minute mark this season — Leverkusen were not able to turn the tide. 

Alonso was self-critical after the match, saying “we weren’t at our best, including me” and explained the system he chose “did not work,” urging his side to “transform our pain into positive energy”.

Despite the disappointment, beating Kaiserslautern would make Leverkusen just the sixth side in German football history to do the double — an incredible achievement for a team which had two major trophies to their name before this season started. 

Xhaka told reporters on Wednesday the result was “not easy” but “we will not let it destroy us”.

“If we don’t win the triple, then we will win the double.”

Centre-back Jonathan Tah, captain on Wednesday night, said “the show must go on”.

“We’ve got a very important game ahead of us — we can’t afford to talk ourselves down too much.”

Their opponents may now face a wounded Leverkusen hoping to make amends, but also understand Alonso’s side are vulnerable after Wednesday’s surprise loss. 

Despite their run to the final, Kaiserslautern only played one top-division side in the Cup — beating Cologne, who were relegated to the second division at the end of the season. 

Kaiserslautern striker Ragnar Ache told AFP he had been cheering for Leverkusen in Wednesday’s final in the hope Alonso’s side “would maybe party a little bit” into the night. 

Ache however said Leverkusen “have a very big squad with high quality players — and they’re used to it”.

“It’s still not going to be easy for us. We have to look at ourselves and what we are going to do.”