Xabi Alonso starts his reign at Bayern Leverkusen with a convincing 4-0 win over Schalke O4. Is Alonso ready to join the league of elite European coaches who are dominating the game?
Bayer Leverkusen opened their 2022/23 Bundesliga campaign with a defeat against Borussia Dortmund.
Despite dominating possession and firing more shots on target than their host, Marcus Reus’s 10th-minute strike in the first half was enough to secure all three points for Dortmund.
In the 90+2 minute, Bayern Leverkusen were reduced to 10 men after Hradecky was sent off with a red card.
Their next stop was against Augsburg at home at the BayArena. It was another nightmare for the team as they settled for a 2-1 defeat despite commanding absolute dominance over the visitors.
Augsburg only managed 6 shots with 4 on target, while the host had a commanding 24 shots with 8 on target.
The visitors equally play second fiddle to Leverkusen on ball possession, having 32% against Bayer Leverkusen’s 68%.
The team’s dominance failed to count as they lost again, suffering two defeats in a row.
Against Hoffenheim at the BayArena again, it was a similar outcome. Leverkusen dominated play and had more shots on target than their visitors but still fell by three unreplied goals.
Goals from Baumgartner, Kramaric, and Rutter sink the home side as they continue to wait for their first Bundesliga win.
Swiss-born coach Gerardo Seoane was obviously under pressure as the poor run of results continued.
The team grabbed their first Bundesliga win away from home against Mainz despite being reduced to 10 men in the 77th after Hincapie was red-carded.
Nevertheless, the win was a tinker with an already complicated situation for Sesoane at the BayArena. He was still under intense pressure after the match.
The team suffered two straight defeats after the win – a Bundesliga loss to Freiburg and a Champions League defeat to Club Brugge.
A draw against Hertha Berlin and Werder Bremen and a 4-0 defeat to Bayern Munich worsened the situation.
The last straw that broke the camel’s back was another Champions League defeat to FC Porto, which finally led to Gerardo Sesoane being sacked.
Xabi Alonso was appointed the new manager, and in his first game in charge, he demonstrated his absolute class with a convincing victory.
Bayer Leverkusen thumped Schalke 4-0 to record their second win in the season and moved up to the 14th place on the table.
Can Xabi Alonso upturn the misfortunes of the club?
After completing a UEFA Elites coaching course in 2018, alongside former teammate Xavi, Xabi Alonso started his managerial career at the junior division of his former club, Real Sociedad B.
In his second season with the team, Real Sociedad B won promotion to the Segunda Division.
Xabi Alonso left Real Sociedad B on 25th May 2022, with the team relegated from the Segunda Division again.
On October 5, 2022, Alonso was appointed Bayer Leverkusen’s head coach after Gerardo Sesoane was dismissed from his job as manager.
Bayer Leverkusen is the first elite European club managed by Alonso. Despite his brilliant start, it is still too early to overestimate his potential with the club
