Bayer after derby victory: Leverkusen's championship calculation – “Ten points are a lot, definitely” | EUROtoday

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Dhe groundbreaking information of this soccer weekend got here from the Republic's statistics departments: Never earlier than has a Bundesliga chief squandered a ten-point lead over the second-placed staff within the final ten video games of the season.

In this respect, Leverkusen had two issues to be glad about two days after Bayern's 2-2 draw at FC Freiburg. The membership, which has by no means gained the championship and as soon as patented the title “Vizekusen”, has completely found the profitable gene. The 2-0 (1-0) within the Rhenish derby was not solely the thirty fourth aggressive sport with out defeat this season, but in addition a greater than huge step in the direction of profitable the nationwide title.

Although many in Leverkusen don't need to formally speak concerning the championship but, the clear numbers are greater than clear, with Bayern now ten factors forward of Bayern after their 2-2 disappointment on Friday night in Freiburg. “There are still a few games left to play. We have seen in the past what can happen. It's important to keep this focus so as not to let it get out of hand. It’s worked well so far,” mentioned Leverkusen nationwide defender Jonathan Tah on DAZN.

“A derby is always special”

After the early pink card in opposition to Jan Thielmann, Bayer was allowed to play within the majority for greater than 75 minutes on Sunday. The two full-backs Jeremie Frimpong (thirty eighth) and Alejandro Grimaldo (73rd) as soon as once more scored the targets for the Werkself in Xabi Alonso's fiftieth Bundesliga sport as coach, who misplaced to Karabakh Agdam within the first leg of the spherical of 16 of the Europa League on Thursday Azerbaijan has to compete. It was the eighth objective of the season for Frimpong and the ninth for Grimaldo.

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“I would have liked to see the game eleven against eleven over 90 minutes. Nevertheless, we had our chances. You have to use that against Leverkusen to take something away. But you can see that they have extreme quality. It was difficult to play against them with eleven men, and even more difficult with ten men,” mentioned Cologne’s Sargis Adamyan.

Leverkusen playmaker Granit Xhaka was concerned within the pink card for Thielmann; the Cologne participant unintentionally fouled him badly. “It hits me clearly in the Achilles tendon and doesn’t have to go in there that hard. The decision is definitely correct,” mentioned the Swiss after the ultimate whistle. “A derby is always special. Unfortunately, it was difficult to play football on the pitch. You can't even play five passes in a row here before a ball bounces. You have to win a derby, no matter how. The three points today – we know how important they were.”

And then Xhaka was one of many few Leverkusen gamers to no less than make a small grasp calculation: “Ten points are a lot, definitely. I have to be honest. But nothing has been eaten yet. As long as it still works out mathematically, we cannot say that it has already been decided. We will continue to be who we are: stay on the ground and keep working.”

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One of the secrets and techniques of the Bayer staff's success is the squad composition of skilled and younger gamers. “We have a great mix, I think. We have been very cool throughout the season,” mentioned Xhaka. “We know exactly when we need to increase the tempo or slow down the game. We have managed to do this very well up until today, up until the 24th matchday.”

His boss felt the identical approach too. “I am very happy with the result,” mentioned coach Alonso. “It’s not easy against ten men. Before the game we saw Hamburg against Osnabrück, they lost to ten players. In the end, the result here is great and very important for us,” mentioned the Bayer coach. “Winning here is a big step forward.”