In the 3-2 victory for Leverkusen in Leipzig, both coaches demonstrated tactical skill, with Bayer coach Xabi Alonso coming out on top. The trust of his players continues to grow.It was somewhat overshadowed in the first few days after the match. With the bitter diagnosis for midfielder Exequiel Palacios (muscle injury, out for a month) and the interest in Betis striker Borja Iglesias, the spectacular course of the match in Bayer Leverkusen’s 3-2 victory had faded somewhat into the background. This was despite the fact that the match made a 180-degree turn at halftime, in which Xabi Alonso played a significant role.“You have to come again next week!”Xabi Alonso reacts to Leverkusen’s incredible comeback win at RB Leipzig with us on @ESPNFC – a second week running we’ve seen them win it late. pic.twitter.com/ffYuGfSRbe— Archie Rhind-Tutt (@archiert1) January 20, 2024 At halftime, the Werkself coach had turned the decisive screws to get his team, which had been hopelessly inferior until then, back into the game at all. In the first 45 minutes, RB played a cat-and-mouse game with Bayer thanks to Marco Rose’s well-thought-out game plan. Time and again, RB had bypassed or, rather, outplayed Leverkusen’s pressing. Leipzig cracked Bayer’s structure – completely atypical for RB Leipzig’s vertical play strongly oriented through the centre – over the left wing.There, the build-up players from the back four or the double-six continuously looked for Dani Olmo, who then played the ball directly behind Leverkusen’s very high-pressing midfielders Exequiel Palacios and Granit Xhaka, putting Bayer’s defence under extreme pressure against RB’s fast forwards Benjamin Sesko and, especially, Lois Openda in one-on-one situations.##NAJAVA_MECA_7822173##Knowing that Leipzig, as at the end of the first 45 minutes, would now drop deeper and play more long balls, Bayer attacked the Leipzig ball possession somewhat less riskily, closed the space in front of their own defensive line, and thus gained control of the game.Because Xabi Alonso’s counter to Rose’s tactical move paid off. Even though the Leipzig coach later complained that his team in the second half “did not make such good decisions with the ball.” A question of cause and effect.In the end, Bayer won as they did the previous week in the 1-0 win in Augsburg with a goal in injury time. Also, thanks to Xabi Alonso’s clear analysis and his correct conclusions, thanks to his fine tactical sense. The 42-year-old demonstrated this once again.This further increases the already great trust of his players in the coach’s measures. This could be just as important for the rest of the season as the three points in Leipzig.
