Bayer Leverkusen have a European final in sight as they take on Roma in Thursday’s UEFA Europa League semi-final second leg.
Xabi Alonso’s men must overturn a one-goal deficit following the defeat in Rome.
Roma coach Jose Mourinho may be known as a wily old fox in the dugout, but his former pupil Xabi Alonso is proving he is a natural tactician too.
The Spaniard took over in October 2022 with Leverkusen second bottom of the Bundesliga table.
Since then he has overseen 34 games in all competitions, winning 17, drawing eight and losing nine, giving him a win ratio of over 50 percent.
It should also be noted that three of those defeats were in Alonso’s first six games in charge, with the 41-year-old still adapting to his players and new surroundings.
So impressive have Leverkusen been, in fact, that only Bayern Munich (50) and Borussia Dortmund (49) have earned more Bundesliga points than Leverkusen’s 44 since Alonso has been at the helm.
Any doubters wondering whether someone of Mourinho’s reputation might be a step too far for Leverkusen’s rookie are way off the mark. Alonso has already held his own against the likes of Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid, AS Monaco and Bayern.
His team also showed in the first leg in Rome they had a strategy to counter the Portuguese coach’s favoured low defensive block, with pacy attacks bringing Leverkusen several chances as they went toe-to-toe with the Italians amid a raucous atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico.
Florian Wirtz leads the line for Leverkusen but Moussa Diaby is undeniably the pick of the supporting cast, netting 14 in all competitions – including five in European competition – as well as five assists.
Fellow Frenchman Amine Adli has shone, too, scoring against Monaco and Ferencvaros in the round of 16 triumph.
Adam Hlozek has slowly started to settle following his summer move from Sparta Prague and scored and assisted as Leverkusen hammered Royal Union Saint-Gilloise 4-1 in the second leg of their continental European quarter-final earlier in April.