Once again, and there are 48 consecutive games (not including five friendlies on the list), Bayer Leverkusen maintained its undefeated status after beating Eintracht Frankfurt 1-5 to maintain an immaculate record in a season that smells like a treble.
Xabi Alonso’s aura is beginning to be legendary. Step by step, he approaches fifty games without knowing defeat. A scandalous figure that, of course, translates into titles. At the moment, he has the Bundesliga in his pocket; He is also on the verge of the Europa League final after beating Roma 0-2 in the first leg of the semifinals; and on May 25 he will face a Second Division team, Kaiserslautern, in the final of the German Cup.
However, amid so much praise and success, Bayer Leverkusen needed a quiet day in the Bundesliga. The last two, against Borussia Dortmund (1-1) and Stuttgart (2-2), ended in a miraculous draw, at the buzzer, with so many agonizing goals that they saved their undefeated status ‘in extremis’. of the German team.
To face a team with the quality of Eintracht, which is practically assured of its presence in Europe next year, Xabi Alonso did not hesitate to do without immovable players in key games. Names like Wirtz, Frimpong, Hincapié or Grimaldo were left on the bench or were not even mentioned: they rested ahead of the key clash against Roma this week.
Xabi Alonso did tests and, like almost everything, it turned out well. His players immediately took control of the match and only found opposition from Ekitike, who rebelled against the tyranny of his rivals to add a little spice to the duel. The player on loan from PSG was the best on his team and the only one capable of putting Leverkusen on the ropes.
But while he made an appearance, first level.
Then, Ekitike did appear. An island in the middle of the abusive dominance of Xabi Alonso’s team. With an accurate header at half an hour, he tied the duel in an isolated play that was prolonged in a huge assist to Marmoush that the Egyptian striker did not take advantage of. Only against Hradecky, he sent the ball into the clouds, certified his bad moment (he has nine games without scoring) and missed on a clear occasion that would have meant 2-1.
That goal did not come and when Leverkusen was at its worst, immersed for a quarter of an hour in an understandable mess with which it demonstrated its mortality, the Czech connection of the German team appeared to raise its second goal to the scoreboard with a header from Schick after a pass from Hlozek, who also assisted Xhaka in the first goal.
The 2-1 was final. Eintracht fought their way to defeat before half-time and certified their defeat after the restart with an absurd penalty committed on Tella for an unnecessary grab inside the area.
Palacios did not fail and a duel ended that would still have two more goals: the fourth, by Frimpong after Hlozek’s third assist of the afternoon, and the fifth, by Boniface, again from the penalty spot. Both certified a win and the abuse of Leverkusen in the Bundesliga. And at the moment, Xabi Alonso is invincible.
– Datasheet:
1.- Eintracht Frankfurt: Trapp: Tuta, Koch, Pacho, Nkounkou (Knauff, min. 70); Dina Ebimbe (Buta, min. 80), Götze, Skhiri (Larsson, min. 70), Chaibi (Bahoya, min. 80); Ekitike (Nacho, min. 80) y Marmoush.
5.- Bayer Leverkusen: Hradecky; Tella (Frimpong, min. 72), Kossounou, Andrich (Puerta, min. 83), Tapsoba, Arthur (Hincapié, min. 61); Hofmann, Xhaka (Tah, min. 72), Palacios, Hlozek; y Schick (Boniface, min. 61).
Goals: 0-1, min. 12: The Family; 1-1, min. 32: Ticket; 1-2 minutes. 44: Schick; 1-3 minutes. 58: Palaces, from penalties; 1-4, min. 78: Frimpong; 1-5 minutes. 90: Boniface, from the penalty spot
Referee: Christian Dingert.
Incidents: match corresponding to the thirty-second day of the Bundesliga played at the Deutsche Bank Park stadium in Frankfurt in front of around 55,000 spectators. EFE
#Hincapié #Alonsos #Leverkusen #invincible
