Leverkusen, led by Xabi Alonso, thrashed Bayern 3-0 to secure a 5-point lead in the Bundesliga

After defeating Bayern 3-0 on Saturday, Bayer Leverkusen and coach Xabi Alonso moved one step closer to ending Bayern Munich’s dominance in the Bundesliga.

It’s carnival season in the Rhineland, and the supporters, many of whom were decked out in costume, had plenty to celebrate.
Rhineland carnival season is upon us, and Leverkusen supporters—many of them decked up in costume—had much to rejoice about as Xabi Alonso’s squad hardly gave Bayern a sniff at goal.

After thumping Bayern 3-0 on Saturday, Bayer Leverkusen and coach Xabi Alonso moved one step closer to ending Bayern Munich’s supremacy in the Bundesliga. It’s carnival season in the Rhineland, and the supporters, many of whom were decked out in costume, had plenty to celebrate.
Rhineland carnival season is upon us, and Leverkusen supporters—many of them decked up in costume—had much to rejoice about as Xabi Alonso’s squad hardly gave Bayern a sniff at goal.

The 11-time defending champion Bayern might perhaps stop its winning streak after this setback. Tuchel remarked, “We’ll be the last to stop believing.”

The first goal was scored by a Bayern player, but he wasn’t on the team, following a kickoff that was delayed due to objections from the crowd.

Returning now In the eighteenth minute, Leverkusen’s fast throw-in routine appeared to take Bayern by surprise as Josip Stanišić, who had been sent out on loan at the beginning of the season, sprang up at the far post to score off Robert Andrich’s low cross.

Although his teammates enthusiastically celebrated his first Bundesliga goal in almost two years, Stanišić only held up his palms in remorse.

Early in the second half, Leverkusen scored two goals thanks to a sharp counterattack. Grimaldo ran down the left wing, played a one-two with Nathan Tella, and then lofted a shot over Manuel Neuer, the goalkeeper. Neuer had gone up for a Bayern corner, and in stoppage time, Jeremie Frimpong blasted a third goal into the empty net.

Alonso easily prevailed tactically against Thomas Tuchel and Bayern, who were unable to penetrate Leverkusen’s defense. Despite having five specialized attackers on the field at once for Bayern, Harry Kane had limited opportunities to score as Leverkusen forced him out of the game. Kane has scored 24 goals in 20 Bundesliga games since joining Bayern.

For the first time this season, Stanišić was used on the right side of defense after Alonso benched Frimpong and moved to a back four instead of his customary three-at-the-back configuration. Tuchel began his new contract. Normally a right back, Sacha Boey was on the left flank and out of position for the first goal scored by Stanišić.
Alonso praised his front three of Tella, Florian Wirtz, and Amine Adli for their relentless running without the ball to induce mistakes, saying, “We wanted to be flexible with the ball, without the ball.”

On Saturday, Union Berlin defeated Wolfsburg 1-0. The match was disrupted numerous times, lasting roughly thirty minutes, when spectators hurled tennis balls onto the pitch to voice their disapproval of the league’s proposed investment agreement.

During halftime, the referee stopped play to clean up tennis balls that Union fans had hurled, and he led the players to their locker rooms. More balls were thrown by Wolfsburg supporters during the pause in play. As negotiations with potential bidders continue, long-running demonstrations against the German league’s intentions to sell a portion of its earnings to an outside investor have became more intense.

The solitary goal for Union came from a header by Danilho Doekhi in the 21st minute of first-half stoppage time.

Fifth position Leipzig lost more ground in the quest for Champions League spots as they drew 2-2 against Augsburg. Since the start of the year, Leipzig has four points from five games.

Lennard Maloney, an American midfielder, scored his first goal in the Bundesliga for Heidenheim in a 2-1 victory over Werder Bremen; Bochum held Eintracht Frankfurt to a 1-1 draw; and Borussia Moenchengladbach and Darmstadt drew 0-0.