Xabi Alonso after Leverkusen’s win: We have to improve. Why are we scoring goals late? We can’t train it, it’s the mentality of the team

Bayer Leverkusen finally made it through the opening game of the new Bundesliga season, winning 3:2 against Borussia Mönchengladbach. Florian Wirtz scored the three points for the reigning German champions at the very end. How did Xabi Alonso see his charges’ performance in the first round?

• Leverkusen beat Mönchengladbach 3-2 in the first round of the new Bundesliga season
• Bayer’s victory was only decided in the last moments by Florian Wirtz
• Xabi Alonso evaluates the performance of his players at the post-match press conference

Bayer Leverkusen understandably have a clear goal for the new competition year – to defend their championship title, preferably also to dominate the DFB Pokal and go as far as possible in the Champions League.

And he is on the right foot to achieve the first mentioned ambition. But it was not easy, especially in the second half. In the first half, the reigning German champions built up a two-goal lead over their opponents.

The fans in the stadium didn’t have to wait long for the first goal, as the visiting Granit Xhaka scored beautifully in the 12th minute. Wirtz then followed up in the 38th minute and when the home team’s goal was disallowed by the referee five minutes later, Leverkusen won the first half 2:0.

But Mönchengladbach closed the gap to two goals in the second half. Nico Elvedi scored in the 59th minute and Tim Kleindienst scored in the 85th minute.

But it would not be Leverkusen who took a penalty kick in the 98th minute. However, goalkeeper Jonas Omlin made a great save, but the ball was only cleared and calmly headed into the net again by Wirtz. The game was thus decided in the 101st minute and disappointed all the home fans in the stadium.

Xabi Alonso on Leverkusen’s performance

Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso, however, warned in the post-match press conference that even though his team eventually got full points, they must continue to work.

“It was an intense first Bundesliga game for us. A lot happened in the second half, it was full of emotions until the end. We did well in many phases,” Alonso told a news conference.

“But we weren’t always compact, we were also a bit passive in some passages. We have to improve and be more aggressive. It’s hard to explain why we always get goals at the end. We can’t train it, I can’t control it, it’s the mentality of the team,” he added.

Source: Bundesliga, Bayer Leverkusen, X