Granit Xhaka vented his spleen at his Bayer Leverkusen teammates as the team nearly collapsed to a shock home defeat to Wolfsburg in Bundesliga matchday four clash.
Recall the Die Werkself slightly lost bearing in the Bundesliga title race this season to Bayern Munich after a shock 2-3 loss to RB Leipzig on August 28, 2024.
Taking on 13th-placed Wolfsburg proved another difficult tie, with the team needing late heroics by Nigeria international Victor Boniface to grab the winner.
Just six minutes into the game, a ludicrous own goal by Nordi Mukiele gave Wolfsburg the lead. However, the hosts fought back gallantly to level terms and pulled a comeback a few minutes after the half-hour. A 14th-minute strike by Florian Wirtz and a 32nd-minute goal by Jonathan Tah overturned the game in a flash.
It was thought the Bundesliga champions would hold on to the lead till the break, but a dramatic turn of events saw Wolfsburg claw their charges back into the game.
Five minutes after Tah’s goal, Sebastiaan Bornauw scored to level terms for the away side bringing the score line to a 2-2 draw. And that wasn’t enough; Mattias Svanberg scored in first half stoppage-time to complete an unlikely and dramatic first-half comeback for Wolfsburg.
The game unfolded like a movie with comebacks and counter-comebacks. Surprisingly, a dominant Bayer Leverkusen side, who were leading 2-1 in the 32nd minute were trailing 3-2 in the 45+1st minute.
Three minutes into the second half, Hincapie pegged the hard-fighting visitors to a 3-3 draw and a barren minutes of action set in with both sides unable to break the deadlock.
The reigning Bundesliga champions nearly shared spoils with the visitors before Victor Boniface scored deep into extra time to complete a second dramatic comeback for the hosts.
The 90+3rd minute strike sealed the win for defending champions in a dramatic fashion, helping the team keep tabs on title challengers Bayern Munich.
Granit Xhaka tears into Bayer Leverkusen teammates for a poor performance Vs Wolfsburg
The seven-goal thriller was typical of the countless late wins and comebacks last season that made a difference in the club’s all-conquering Bundesliga campaign. For Granit Xhaka, the narrow escape wasn’t encouraging.
Speaking to BILD after the game, Xhaka disparaged the injury-time victory while calling on his teammates to be ‘self-crtical’ and ‘honest with each other.’
“We don’t need to talk about injury time here. We need to be honest with each other, self-critical enough: This is not enough!” he said.
Specifically, the former Arsenal captain doubled down on his criticism, pointing fingers on the team for the ease with which they conceded goals. He also complained of some teammates not making the runs to cover up gaps where necessary.
”It can’t be that we concede three goals every game. Especially the way we concede the goals”, he said.
”It’s not that the opponent takes us apart, combines beautifully and then scores the goals. It’s just that we don’t make the runs well enough.”
”We call ourselves a top team. But a top team doesn’t concede three goals in 45 minutes.”
Bayern Leverkusen’s screeching start to the 2024-25 Bundesliga season
Compared to the last campaign, Bayern Munich are off the benchmarks this season. A not-so-stellar start to the campaign has prompted questions on whether the team can defend the title they won last season.
They have conceded nine Bundesliga goals in their first four matches this season with seven of the goals coming in the last three matches.
After an opening 3-2 victory over Borussia Monchengladbach on August 23, 2024, they settled for a shock 2-3 home defeat to RB Leipzig in the second match. Away from the Leipzig loss, they bounced back with a 4-1 win over Hoffenheim on September 14, 2024, before the dramatic 4-3 victory over Wolfsburg.
Can Bayer Leverkusen defend the 2023-24 Bundesliga title?
With three wins in four matches, the team sits second on the Bundesliga table with 9 points, 3 points behind challengers Bayern Munich at the top. It is still too early to write off their chances in the title race.
However, they are likely to face a tough run by Bayern Munich who have maintained a perfect start to the campaign. Interestingly, their next match will be against the Bavarians on Saturday, 28, 2024. This is likely to be a title-deciding clash, determining the fate of the the two clubs in the race.
Meanwhile, Xhaka played a big role in the team’s Bundesliga triumph last season. He featured in 33 Bundesliga matches, scoring three goals. This season, the Swiss hopes the team will maintain a similar drive and spirit as they push to defend the title.
