Bayern Leverkusen’s hunt for the Bundesliga title is unstoppable this season. With a remarkable record of 16 wins, 4 draws, and 0 losses after 20 matches, they comfortably lead the Bundesliga table with 52 points, a new record in the team’s history. Leverkusen’s journey to Bundesliga glory seems more like an inevitability than a possibility as they remain undefeated in the Europa League group stage and semi-finalists in the DFB-Polak League. The three reasons that will make Bayern Leverkusen end the dominance of Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga are they have a great coach who happens to be a former star player and new signings that have complemented the team. Lastly, Leverkusen’s players demonstrate remarkable cohesion, which makes them invincible.
3 Reasons Why Bayern Leverkusen Will End The Dominance Of Bayern Munich In Bundesliga
Bayer Leverkusen are:
-The only undefeated team in Europe
-The only team with a perfect UEFA Europa League record
-5 points clear in the Bundesliga with 13 matches left@princerequiem7 takes a look at Leverkusen's stellar campaign under Xabi Alonso: https://t.co/pyrn2ddWDx pic.twitter.com/Tj71n6Jn9t
— Breaking The Lines (@BTLvid) February 16, 2024
1. Coach Xabi Alonso Effect
Xabi Alonso retired as a player in 2017, obtained his coaching license with UEFA, and immediately started his career in Real Madrid for the U-13 Team. He performed excellently and soon moved to his former team, Real Sociedad, to manage team B. He managed the team for three seasons until he left for Bayern Leverkusen in October 2022. As a young coach, many did not think he would do well, but as luck would have it, he proved them wrong with a debut win. After losing four games, Alonso has led the team to an undefeated run and even led his team into the European championships. His contract ends in 2026.
Considering his background, his father – Periko Alonso, played for Barcelona and coached Real Sociedad. His brother Mikel Alonso also played football. Xabi was a great player known for his incredible range of passing. In addition, he was known for his calmness and composure when playing ball. He has merged his father’s knowledge and experience to become a great tactician in football. His popular tactic is having five players cover while five players attack.
He is so good in his craft that even Jose Mourinho endorsed him as a great coach early in his career.
Jose Mourinho said: “With Xabi Alonso, you always saw there was a manager there. Similarly to me, his father was a player. He grew up with a father [Periko] who was a player then a manager, and then he became a player, of course much better than I was. His knowledge of the game was very high. And then he played in Spain, England and Germany. And he was coached by [Pep] Guardiola at Bayern, by myself in Real Madrid, by [Carlo] Ancelotti in Real Madrid, and by [Rafa] Benitez in Liverpool. So if you put all that together then I would say that Xabi has the conditions to be a very good coach.”
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2. New Talented Signings
After Leverkusen lost their top scorer, Moussa Diaby, there was a need to find a replacement.
Player | Age | Previous Team | Goals for Leverkusen 2023-24 Season |
|
24 | Southampton | 4 |
|
22 | Union SG | 10 |
|
30 | Arsenal | 1 |
|
30 | Bor. M’gladbach | 5 |
|
20 | America-MG | 0 |
|
23 | Man Utd. | 0 goals conceded |
|
27 | Benfica | 8 |
The new arrivals have not disappointed Leverkusen even one bit. They came and boosted Leverkusen’s overall performance. Victor Boniface arrived as a top-scorer in the Europa League last year and has lived up to his team’s expectations as a center-forward. He won the Rookie of the Month award in the Bundesliga 3-months in a row. Xhaka arrived from Arsenal with a wealth of experience and has mastered being Xabi’s voice in the midfield. He also shows great field awareness when he receives a pass from his teammates. On his end, Hofman came with the best-attacking stats in the 2022/23 season when playing for Gladbach. And on the left wing, Grimaldo came as a free transfer from Benfica.
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3. Unmatched Team Work
Now that Xabi has all the missing puzzles of his team from the new arrivals, he has grown an unbeatable team. Leverkusen now plays ball on a united front, with each player harnessing their gifts with no limitations. A great example is Florian Wirtz, one of Europe’s most talented attacking midfielders. His strength is excellent in receiving and maintaining the ball, and he moves further to assist his team through tight spots and even scores goals in the process. Another set of players that cause chaos for other teams are Alejandro Grimaldo and Jeremie Frimpong. They are now being called the Premium Wing Duo. The defense side has also been tremendous, considering Leverkusen has not lost any game. Lukas Hradecky has saved 81% of all the shots he has encountered.
Conclusion
With the current trend of Bayern Leverkusen, it will be very hard for Bayern Munich to win the Bundesliga title. It is clear that Leverkusen, under the leadership of Xabi, is determined to take the trophy, considering they have not lost any match and are five points ahead in the table. It is key to note that only twice in the League has witnessed a team getting 52 points at this stage. For both times, it was Bayern Munich, and they won the title. Therefore, it would be safe to say that Bayern Leverkusen is highly likely to take the Bundesliga trophy.