Kolkata: The second season, according to Manolo Marquez, can be more difficult. “Now, they are the surprise of the league; next year all the people will know these players,” he had said after getting Hyderabad FC to punch above their weight in his first Indian Super League (ISL) season. Next season, Marquez won ISL with Hyderabad FC.
After becoming the first team to win Bundesliga unbeaten, bagging a German double and their only defeat in a 52-game season coming in the Europa League final, Xabi Alonso would be wary of the second-season blues his fellow Spaniard was talking about. Leicester City finished 12th one season after winning the Premier League, Napoli were 10th after ending a 33-year wait for the Serie A and following their fairytale third-place finish in La Liga last term, Girona are now ninth. Mocked as Bayer Never-kusen for their inability to close out Bundesliga seasons – they were runners-up five times before the jinx was broken in 2023-24 – it could have been the same with Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen
Yet, like Marquez, who moved to FC Goa after three successful seasons with Hyderabad FC and now has the dual responsibility of managing India, Alonso has coped well. From remaining unbeaten for 361 days, Leverkusen have already lost twice so another “Never-lusen” is not happening but they are third in Bundesliga and second in the Champions League.
Tuesday’s 1-0 win at home against Inter Milan, their first in four attempts against the former European champions, was proof of Leverkusen sticking to the good habits formed last season. Nordi Mukiele’s 90th minute goal summed up every bit of the never-say-die attitude that was the leitmotif of Leverkusen’s historic run in 2023-24. One forged by a man who as a player won the Champions League after trailing 0-3 at half-time.
Last season, Leverkusen scored 34 goals after the 80th minute. Against Qarabag, where they were down 0-2 in both legs, Hoffenheim, Stuttgart, Roma and West Ham Leverkusen came very close to losing but managed to find a way out. They have scored five goals after the 80th minute in 21 matches in all competitions this term. Goodbye Fergie Time, hello Alonso Time.
In the build-up to Mukiele’s goal, his first for the club since joining on loan from Paris St-Germain, television cameras showed Alonso swinging his right leg as if poised to shoot even as he was moving forward. Leverkusen’s corner-kick had been partially cleared but Florian Wirtz, the creative force behind so many wins last season, flung it back and Mukiele managed a good connection. If you ignored his wild attempt in the 50th minute, the defender’s most important contribution till then was tracking back to cleanly dispossess Marcus Thurram in the 64th. But there he was making the difference. Cue fist pumps from Alonso.
It was the first goal Inter had conceded in six Champions League match days. Simone Inzaghi’s team had kept clean sheets against Manchester City and Arsenal and with matches against Sparta Praha and Monaco remaining, Inter, fourth in the standings, should make the next round.
Leverkusen ended 17 points ahead of the next team in 2023-24 Bundesliga. Inter had 19 more en route the Serie A title. Both have retained the core of the squad and Inzaghi was one of the six managers to keep his job in Serie A. Leverkusen had won five on the bounce in all competitions. Inter hadn’t lost in the Champions League – their only defeat this season came in the Milan derby in September – had beaten Arsenal 1-0 and had won four of their last six matches across competitions.
The match could have opened up had Nathan Tella’s third-minute volley not hit the crossbar. Instead it was a tight, tactical battle where Inter had zero attempts on target. “We weren’t good enough in attack,” said Inzaghi. Leverkusen had five without really testing Inter goalie Yan Sommer but Alonso praised his team’s tactical awareness and that they didn’t lose “many silly balls.”.
Also on 13 points like Leverkusen and Inter are Aston Villa and Brest giving the top five an unusual look. Villa’s 3-2 win at RB Leipzig was their third on the trot in all competitions after an eight-game winless run. Back among Europe’s elite after 41 years, Villa are now a win away from the round of 16. Leverkusen have been more regular in the Champions League but this has been their best start since Zinedine Zidane’s brilliance felled them in the 2001-02 final. They haven’t reached the knockout rounds since 2016-17. In his first full season as Champions League manager, Alonso looks set to change that. Who knows, he may even emulate Pep Guardiola and win it at the first time of trying.
