Xabi Alonso on Bayer Leverkusen’s win against Bayern Munich: “Sometimes it doesn’t matter how you win, the main thing is that you win.”

Speaking at his post-match press conference following Bayer Leverkusen’s 1-0 win against Bayern Munich, head coach Xabi Alonso offered his opinion on the game. 

On the performance and result as a whole, the Leverkusen boss said: 

“I’m very proud of the team. Sometimes it doesn’t matter how you win, the main thing is that you win. We’ve seen all of Bayern’s games: they usually destroy their opponents. It’s not easy to survive here. It was hard for the players, they gave everything.”

Alonso then added:

“A very important night for us. To win here today, against FC Bayern, who have been very strong this season, is something special. Of course we had to suffer, but we achieved our goal, and that’s great! In the end, we are super happy.”

Leverkusen came away from the Allianz Arena with a 1-0 win thanks to a headed goal from Nathan Tella in the 69th minute. Although Leverkusen once again did not see much of the ball against Bayern, they did have better chances than the hosts in the first half but failed to take advantage, especially due to the fact that Bayern were a man down thanks to Manuel Neuer’s sending off. 

Although the performance is something not to be proud of, the fact that they beat Bayern means it can give them confidence heading into the second half of the season in the new year especially as Leverkusen have begun to turn their form and most importantly their performances in the league around. 

The win for Leverkusen means that Xabi Alonso remains unbeaten against Bayern since taking over at the BayArena in 2022, while Bayern are once again knocked out of the DFB Pokal and have not been near the final since 2020 when they beat Leverkusen. 

GGFN | Jack Meenan