After a 3-0 defeat against Porto on Wednesday night, Xabi Alonso has branded Bayer Leverkusen’s upcoming Champions League game against Atlético Madrid a ‘final’ as they must win or face elimination from this season’s competition.
“You can lose but the reaction is very important,” said Alonso. “The next game is a final for us.” Bayer Leverkusen are bottom with three points after four games and with two defeats against Porto, who are second and on six points, Die Werkself must beat Atlético Madrid to keep their slim hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages alive.
Bayer Leverkusen dominated on Wednesday night but struggled to test Diogo Costa in the Porto goal. The Portuguese side took the lead inside six minutes through Galeno before Mehdi Taremi scored from the spot after 53 minutes, and again 11 minutes later.
“We could have defended better,” criticised Alonso. Jonathan Tah added: “We still have two games left. We go into every game wanting to win it.” Bayer Leverkusen face Atlético Madrid on October 26.
GGFN | Daniel Pinder
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