Xabi Alonso finally returns to Liverpool – but Bundesliga-winning Bayer Leverkusen boss is facing first mini-crisis ahead of Champions League clash

Jonathan Tah was in no mood for holding back. “This feels like crap,” the Bayer Leverkusen defender fumed after his side had twice failed to hold onto a lead in last month’s 2-2 draw with Bundesliga rivals Werder Bremen. “It’s like a defeat.

“We simply have to keep defending until the last second. The goals we let in were frustrating. But we will get the chance to silence those talking about us now.”

Leverkusen’s erratic form has certainly become a major talking point in Germany over the past few weeks. Last season’s double-winners have still only lost one game in all competitions and, ahead of Tuesday’s trip to Liverpool, are well on course to qualify for the knockout stage of the Champions League.

However, the German champions will arrive at Anfield having drawn four of their last five Bundesliga games, a frustrating run that has left them seven points behind leaders Bayern Munich after just nine rounds of action. Consequently, some supporters and pundits are wondering if opponents have finally figured out how to nullify Xabi Alonso’s previously unstoppable side…

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  ‘The feeling that we are not going to lose’

  Leverkusen’s 2023-24 campaign was truly extraordinary. They played 53 games in total – and lost only one, in the Europa League final to Atalanta. They also became the first team in the history of German football to win a domestic double without suffering a single defeat.

  Bayer went from ‘Neverkusen’ to ‘Neverlusen’ thanks to the club’s wonderful recruitment and the genius of Alonso, who put together a team that was as exciting as it was resilient, as underlined by the fact that they scored 42 times in the 80th minute or later between the start of their Spanish coach’s tenure in October 2022 and the end of last season.

  As winger Amine Adli put it at one point, “We always have the feeling that we are not going to lose.”

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    ‘This is the right place’

    Hardly surprising, then, that Liverpool, Bayern and Real Madrid all reportedly attempted to hire Alonso during the summer – only for the 42-year-old to surprisingly stay at the Bay Arena.

    “I am a young coach, but I have to feel it, and right now I feel that this is the right place,” he explained after confirming his intention to stay with Leverkusen until at least 2025. “It’s a process, the development of the team is parallel with my development as a manager.

    “This is my first complete season as a manager. I still have a lot of things to prove myself, to experience, and right now I have a situation in the club where I feel really stable, really happy with the team and the club.”

    Despite the huge boost of holding onto the most coveted coach in world football, Leverkusen have surprisingly lacked stability this season, as Alonso has been the first to admit.

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    ‘Wake-up call’

    Leverkusen’s unbeaten run in the Bundesliga came to an end on matchday two, with Alonso’s men blowing a 2-0 lead in a 3-2 loss to RB Leipzig. Three weeks later, it was they who came out on top in another dramatic encounter, beating Wolfsburg 4-3 at home.

    However, the coach was just as perturbed by his team’s inability to control the flow of the game as he had been after the Leipzig defeat. “Everything was too hectic, too crazy, both in defence and in attack – that’s just not what we want,” he admitted.

    Granit Xhaka agreed, arguing that the game had to serve as “a wake-up call” for every single member of the squad. “Our defence was our strength last season,” the Swiss midfielder pointed out, “so we can’t keep conceding as many goals as we have been.” Unfortunately for Leverkusen, it remains a major issue.

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    ‘All in our heads’

    Alonso’s brilliant backline was breached just 24 times in the Bundesliga last season; this time around, they’ve already shipped 15 goals, resulting in the loss of 11 points, having dropped just 12 during their title triumph. Clearly something is going wrong – but the question is what?

    Some have suggested that sides have simply worked out how to expose the space in behind the buccaneering wing-backs in Alonso’s favoured 3-4-2-1 formation. But Xhaka is having none of it.

    “It’s nothing to do with the system we’re playing, believe me,” the former Arsenal ace said. “It’s about whether we want to go the extra yard or not. It’s all in our heads. It’s not as if the opposition are tearing us apart, playing nice link-up play and then scoring. We’re just not making our runs well enough. We’re not aggressive enough and we’re giving the opposition too much space. The goals we’re conceding are too easy.”

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    ‘Can and must do better’

    It certainly seems significant that Leverkusen have appeared far more switched-on in the Champions League, where they have kept clean sheets in wins over Feyenoord and AC Milan, and conceded only once, in the draw with Brest last time out. Consequently, Alonso is not exactly ready to push the panic button, even if he remains concerned by his teams’ “soft” defending.

    “We can and must do better,” he said after the Bremen draw. “There are things we need to correct. At the moment, we are missing a bit of stability. When we get that back, then we will improve.”

    There were certainly signs of greater stability in last Friday’s Bundesliga clash with Stuttgart.

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    ‘Beautiful challenge’

    Leverkusen may have been held to a 0-0 draw by last season’s runners-up, but Xhaka labelled it their “best performance of the season” – and Alonso agreed.

    “I’m very satisfied with the attitude from the lads,” the former Spain international said. “We were only missing the goals. If we play like that against Liverpool, then we’ll have a better chance to win.”

    Tellingly, Alonso isn’t the least bit nervous about taking on Arne Slot’s Premier League leaders. On the contrary, it’s a test that he insists he’s going to relish as he looks to belatedly bring some order to his difficult second full season in charge of Leverkusen.

    “Champions League at Anfield? It doesn’t get much better than that,” said Alonso, who won the competition with Liverpool as a player in 2005. “This game means a lot to me. It will be a big game. The atmosphere will be great. Liverpool is one of the best teams in Europe at the moment. It’s a huge challenge – but a beautiful challenge for us.”