Bayer Leverkusen suffered their first defeat in this season’s edition of the Champions League as they faced an unbeaten Liverpool side. After a goalless, and promising first half display from the Bundesliga champions, Xabi Alonso’s side shipped four goals after the break with Luis Diaz netting a hat-trick on Xabi Alonso’s return to the club.
Speaking after the game, Alonso praised his side’s performance for the first 60 minutes.
“The result is tough,” Alonso told Amazon Prime. “Tougher than the performance. For 60 minutes it was okay to good, for 30 minutes it wasn’t enough.
“We are playing against Liverpool. That was the challenge, to stick together in those tough moments and not be too easy for Liverpool – and we couldn’t do that.”
Alonso also addressed a specific issue when in possession: “Our possession of the ball wasn’t that good. We were a bit tired and the distances between the players were a bit too big,” added the Spaniard.
Granit Xhaka also had his take on the game, adding: “We conceded easy goals by not just coming back, but also standing still. And that shouldn’t happen at this level – and that’s a shame.”
